New Delhi, 06 November—The Congress today raised questions on the Modi government’s claims of rural prosperity growing in last 12 years quoting “surveys conducted by its own institution, NABARD”.
Warning that that prices of soap, biscuits, noodles and other daily necessities are set to rise after Diwali, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X saying that the “common person’s life has become trapped in the double stranglehold of inflation and debt”,
The media report has claimed that despite government assistance under schemes such as the ‘PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana’, rising inflation in rural areas was placing an increasing financial burden on people.
The media report has cited a survey by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and claimed that rural households were spending 53.5 per cent of their total monthly income on food and beverages alone due to inflation.
Citing the report, Ramesh pointed out that over half of the expenditure of rural households is going towards food.
“Savings are shrinking, the number of people taking on debt is rising, and for informal loans, people are forced to pay annual interest rates as high as 18.3 per cent,” Ramesh said.
The government, however, refuses to acknowledge the ground reality, leaving no room for improvement, he said.
“Persistent inflation is breaking the back of the poor and the middle class. The public is already reeling under the burden of rising prices of daily essentials, including vegetables, fruits, pulses, cooking oil, milk and flour,” Ramesh claimed, adding that medical expenses were projected to rise by 10 per cent by 2027.
The Congress leader accused the government of pursuing “anti-people” policies that have brought no relief on incomes, no check on inflation and no respite from healthcare costs.
“The truth about development under the Modi government is that the common person’s plate is getting smaller, their pockets are emptying and their debt burden is growing heavier,” he said.
“Now, with the Modi government steeped in the arrogance of power making no effort to rein in inflation, the responsibility falls upon the vigilant citizens of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Manipur to express their outrage against inflation by decisively defeating the BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections,” Ramesh said.
The government, however, has dismissed the allegations and pointed to India’s 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter of 2026-27, which raised questions of whether the expansion was overstated.
Former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had called the government’s figures incorrect and claimed that the economy grew by only 2.6 per cent in the April-June quarter.
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had questioned why the strong economic expansion on paper did not reflect in jobs and investment on the ground.
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
