In a democratic system, it is common practice for political parties to hurl accusations at the opposition. But if the prime minister of a nation makes a statement, then it becomes quite natural to expect factual accuracy and seriousness in it. It is unfortunate that our honourable prime minister, motivated by trivial politics, makes statements that are far from the truth.
The prime minister and other senior BJP leaders say that there has been no development in the last 70 years and no achievement whatsoever. This accusation is non-factual. It’s been 76 years since our nation achieved Independence. In these 76 years, Congress has had only 55 years of governance, while the tenure of BJP and the parties operating through BJP’s support has been of approximately 19 years.
Out of 21 years, the tenure of the BJP and other parties has been of 19 years. The honourable prime minister, being in his state of vanity, has also started considering the tenures of the venerable Atal Bihari Vajpayee as devoid of achievements.
Till the start of the 18th century, India’s GDP was the highest among all nations. The nation had approximately a one-fourth share in the total GDP of the world. Over time, the British rule of 200 years emptied the country’s economy. The commercialisation of Indian agriculture was done to provide raw materials to the British industries, becoming the cause for ruin of the farmers. It was as a result of British colonial activities that India was one of the world’s poorest countries at the time of Independence. There was a huge crisis of food grains in India and we were dependent on other nations for feeding our population of 34 crore. About 80 per cent of the country’s public was below the poverty line and 90 per cent of people were illiterate. Industrial production and energy production were nominal.
Due to the lack of resources, reconstructing the nation was quite challenging. As overcoming the food crisis was a matter that needed to be given the highest priority, the greatest emphasis was laid on the development of agriculture in the First Five-Year Plan (1951–1956). During the Second Five-Year Plan (1956–1961), heavy and basic industries were established.
In these ten years, dams like Bhakra Nangal and Hirakud were constructed. The foundations of steel plants in Bhilai, Durgapur, Rourkela and Bokaro were laid. Works related to education and scientific research along with agriculture and industrial development were also conducted. Famous and dignified institutes like IIT (1950), AIIMS (1956) and IIM (1961) were established. BARC was established for the development of nuclear power. Similarly, ISRO for the development of space science and DRDO for the development of defence research were also established. With the “Green Revolution” in the Sixties, the path of self-reliance in food grain production was paved. To encourage milk production in India, a program called “Operation Flood” was started. In 1975, India’s first space satellite was successfully launched. After the successful nuclear testing in Pokhran in 1998, India became the sixth nation to join the nuclear club.
During the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi, the digital revolution started. The use of computers and the establishment of PCOs in villages heralded the “Communication Revolution”.
It is noteworthy that the BJP strongly opposed the production of computers and their use in the country stating that it would lead to unemployment. Today, while Modi wants to take credit for the “Digital Revolution”, the truth remains unchanged. Rajiv Gandhi conducted many historical works such as giving constitutional status to local government bodies, conferring voting rights at 18 years of age, and one-third reservation for women.
Historical schemes and works like MGNREGA, Aadhar Card, mobile and internet, debt remission for farmers, Right to Information, Right to Education, forest rights, Patta distribution, Midday meal program, Rural Health Mission, rural electrification, food security law, successful launching of the Agni missile, eight crore new gas connections, housing for two crore poor people, seven new AIIMS hospitals, 31 crore new bank accounts, bonus on agricultural produce, farmer insurance, hoisting the Tricolor on the moon, 30 lakh km village roads, 80,000 km of new highways, and launching metros in 10 cities—were all conducted during Dr Manmohan Singh’s tenure and before Modi became the PM.
The comparative statistics of the years 1947 and 2014 under various socio-economic indices can be understood through the following analysis: The total population of India in 1947 was 34 crore, which grew to 127 crore in 2014. The literacy rate was 12 per cent earlier, and 80 per cent in 2014. The average life span increased from 34 years to 68 years. The number of colleges and universities increased from 496 and 20 to 34,452 and 740 respectively. The number of engineering colleges and medical colleges rose from 36 and 19 to 3,345 and 387 respectively. The annual income per person increased from ₹274 to ₹72,805. There was a significant rise in GDP, from 2.7 lakh crore in 1947 to 130 lakh crore in 2014. In 1947, 80 per cent of the population was Below Poverty Line, which decreased to 21.6 per cent in 2014. The production of agricultural produce, electricity, cement and steel has grown from five crore to 26 crore tonnes, 1,362 MW to 2.37 lakh MW, 21.5 MT to 280 MT, and 1 to 87.67 MT respectively.
The aforementioned analysis proves that there has been holistic progress in the nation in all fields from 1947 to 2014. The hard work of citizens deserves credit for this.
All previous governments have contributed to the progress of the nation. Even though the BJP leaders, while being inspired by petty politics, don’t give due credit to former governments for the said achievements, the PM cannot be conferred with the right to say that the nation’s history in the last 70 years has been devoid of achievements. It would be appropriate for Modi to promote the achievements of his tenure and stop the criticism of the tenure of previous governments.
The BJP leaders, under a devious strategy, are committed to false propaganda, so that by lying to the public again and again, people start believing that there has been no progress in the last 76 years and the only credit for the achievements of the nation today goes to Mr Modi. This lie told by the BJP is extremely reprehensible.
(Views are personal)
Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh