Given the state assembly elections, Congress has once again targeted the Modi government, claiming that the challenging state of the economy has increased difficulties in the daily life of the common people. Citing the estimates and figures of some external financial agencies, the party said that the real domestic income of the people in the country has declined due to the backbreaking inflation amid extremely slow increases in salaries and wages.
The party alleged that the attitude of the central government regarding the fact of unprecedented decline in real income compared to inflation is like that of an "ostrich" and it is indifferent to the most basic challenges of the economy. After the success in keeping the issue of inflation and unemployment at the center of the electoral debate in the Lok Sabha elections, the party is continuously trying to surround the government aggressively on issues related to the public.
Wages decreased due to inflation - Jairam Ramesh
In a statement issued on Sunday, Congress Communication General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, citing a new report of a well-known brokerage firm, said that the real domestic income in India is continuously declining. Real wages have fallen significantly due to slow wage growth and backbreaking inflation. Several surveys and data - including the Annual Survey of Unregistered Industries, Reserve Bank's KLEMS, and Household Consumer Expenditure Survey - reflect the deepening financial crisis faced by the working class.
Jayaram said that the government's official data also clearly proves that the purchasing power of workers has decreased today compared to 10 years ago. The Labor Bureau's Wage Rate Index shows that the real wages of workers remained stagnant between 2014-2023 and declined between 2019-2024. According to the Congress General Secretary, it is clear from the data of the Agriculture Ministry that while the real wages of agricultural laborers increased at the rate of 6.8 percent every year during the tenure of the Manmohan government, the real wages of agricultural laborers declined by -1.3 percent every year under the Modi government.
Why has private investment remained sluggish?
Asking four questions to the Prime Minister and his ministers about these challenges of the economy, Jairam said that the government should explain why private investment remains sluggish and why the share of the private sector in overall investment has fallen to the lowest level in the last four years.
Secondly, why is consumption growth so weak and why did private final consumption expenditure grow only around 4 percent in FY 2024? The government should also explain why real wages are stagnant or why are they declining. Jairam said that the percentage share of the manufacturing sector in GDP has fallen from 16.5 percent during the UPA tenure to 14.5 percent today and the government should clarify its stand on why this decline is particularly sharp in labor-intensive manufacturing such as textiles.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) disqualified Bangladesh from the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup i
On completion of 100 days of BJP-led Delhi government, the '100 Din Seva Ke' program has been org
Delhi Blast: A case has been registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in
The first meeting of the high-level committee formed by the Central Government to investigate the
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the US was quite controversial. The verbal war
On Monday, animal rights activist and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi strongly criticised the
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had to resi
Following the first phase of voting in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Prashant Kishore (PK),
Following the resurgence of respiratory distress, the central government issued health guidelines
The trailer of the South movie Pushpa 2 is to be launched today (17 November) at Gandhi Maidan in
