NEW DELHI: The country has become a "surveillance state" and the entire thing is being run with "control and arrogance", Trinamool Congress (TMC) member in Rajya Sabha Jawahar Sircar said on Thursday.
Sircar in his maiden speech in Parliament attacked the government over the current status of the economy, issues of poverty and unemployment, policies and reduction in allocation of funds towards education and health.
Referring to the Pegasus spyware snooping issue, he said this State has become a "surveillance state" as evidence points towards it, but the government does not have the "guts" to come out and say no.
"They send governors with an intention of disturbing the Constitutional mechanism of a state," Sircar said, adding that "the one which we have got, will also be the less said is better".
He was apparently referring to Jagdeep Dhankar, the governor of West Bengal, where the TMC is in power.
On the Central Vista Redevelopment project, Sircar, during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, said it is "an arrogant display of hubris" by the government.
Under the project, six "unimaginative" and "unaesthetic" buildings will come up on two sides of Rajpath by breaking down buildings such as National Museum, Vigyan Bhavan, National Archives of India and National Cultural Center, he said.
Sircar, a former bureaucrat, said he has served in the government and there is no need for the project.
"I have served in the central bureaucracy Mr (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, you have not served. I know there is no need for it because even you bring them down to your Modinagar, there will still be people who would be working outside," he said.
Sircar said India is today at crossroads.
"It has (economy) never gone through such a bad patch. I have worked for 41 years in the government and I know it has never gone through such a bad patch, not even in 1991, and much of the destruction of the economy is thanks to deliberate policies," he said.
India has a labour force of around 100 crore between the age group of 15 and 64 years, and the government has admitted only 40 per cent is the labour participation ratio, the MP said.
"This means that 60 crore Indians have no job security," he said, claiming the country has six crore unemployed people and that it had never reached such a devastative ratio.
Sircar said 15 crore people were lifted from poverty in the 10 years from 2006 but 14 crore have also been pushed into poverty in the last two years.
"Without an equitable economy what does it matter where the Indian economy reaches 3 trillion or 30 trillion because all of this will go in the pockets of a few while others would go hungry," he added.
Privatisation has been now given much more emphasis and the disinvestment budget is Rs 1.75 lakh crore.
Now, the government has come with the National Monetisation Pipeline and targets Rs 5 lakh crore over a period of five-six years, the TMC leader claimed.
Twenty categories of national assets ranging from roads, freight corridors, railway lines, power and airports to gas and coal projects would be handed over for a lease period and returned after extracting what they have in it, he said.
"What guarantee do we have that we shall be getting those goods which we gave them," Sircar added.
Six airports were privatised for a "friend" and the procedures were "tuned accordingly" for those who have never handled airports, he said.
"You have not created any public assets and who has authorised you to put up any public assets and sell the family silver," the MP said.
Sircar said LIC is the crown jewel of India and is worth Rs 40 lakh crore and has six lakh agents and employees.
"Our budget is around Rs 35 lakh crore and LIC which is such a solid institution is now being diluted in the favour of American insurance companies," he said, adding, "I am putting it bluntly."
Banks over the last 12 years have given a profit of Rs 16.55 lakh crore of operating profits, the MP said.
"The inflation rate is six per cent and the fix deposit rate is below six per cent around five to 5.5 per cent," said Sircar adding, "you are actually stealing one per cent from depositors' money by eroding its value".
While in education, the minister said the contribution of the Centre was 1.07 per cent of GDP five years ago and the present government has brought it down to 0.9 per cent, he said.
"It has come down to even below even the shameful percentage of one per cent," he said, adding that even the poor states have contributed 3.31 per cent of GDP and therefore, India's total contribution to education to GDP comes to 4.30 per cent.
"Education as a percentage of GDP is going down year after year and you are doing nothing about it," he said, adding that in major schemes for higher education known as RUSA (Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan), it has come down from Rs 1,400 crore five years ago to Rs 165 crore this year.
While, on health, the total spend is just 1.2 per cent of GDP and its one of the "most shameful things".
Though it has gone to 1.8 per cent, he said.
Sircar also accused the government of favouring one telecom operator.
"Within a week of his coming, Mr Modi amended TRAI Act so that TRAI chairman could be his principal secretary. Subsequent chairperson of TRAI has facilitated the growth of one telecom empire and has devastated all of the telecom companies to the extent that government is forced to buy up major share in one limping company," he alleged.
The MP also accused the government of weakening the Election Commission and alleged institutions are having a difficult period.
Targeting the Centre, he alleged the CBI and the ED have become instruments of political vendetta as it has its own "henchman" on the top and gave extension after extension.