Sitaram Yechury: Make in India, govt schemes a jumla'

New Delhi: Terming the government's flagship “Make in India” programme a “jumla”, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday claimed investments and exports in the manufacturing sector have dropped sharply over the past five years.

The “Make in India” programme came under severe criticism last week after the Vande Bharat Express, India’s first semi high-speed train, broke down on its way back to the capital from Varanasi, just a day after it was launched.

“Modi’s Make in India, like all his other schemes, has turned out to be a jumla and PR. Investment, employment, and exports in India’s manufacturing sector have all declined sharply in the past five years,” Mr Yechury tweeted. Taking on the government over low agricultural, manufacturing, employment and income growth, he said: “Agricult-ural growth low, manufacturing growth low, emplo-yment growth low, income growth low... All things that matter to Indians are going lower under Modi. The only thing going up is the PR budget of Modi and jumlas from his speeches, as his cronies loot the banks.”

The top “12 crony businessmen friends of this govt owe public money which is twice the entire farm loan waiver!” he alleged, adding: “Yet, the Modi govt has been happy to waive off over '3 lakh crore of unpaid loans of friends and allowed looters to scoot. Nothing for farmers facing an unprecedented crisis.”

“A political ideology which divides Indians and pitches one Indian against another is truly ‘anti-national’. We all know who the proponents and leaders of that political ideology are, in our country,” he said.