Voting for the first three phases in India’s general elections has concluded. A centre-left coalition of parties and the right-wing incumbent coalition are vying for votes and clashing over the issues of wealth and income redistribution in the country.
The Congress Party, leading the centre-left INDIA alliance, has accused the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central government of failing to take appropriate policy decisions to curb inequality.
However, instead of acknowledging the need to address inequality, the BJP has twisted the claims and accused Congress of planning to rob people’s “hard-earned wealth”.
During election speeches, Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that Congress is planning to take wealth away from the people of the religious majority community (Hindus) to give it to minority Muslims. He said the latter are “infiltrators and produce more children”.
In its manifesto, Congress has promised to conduct a nationwide socioeconomic and caste census and take measures to “address the growing inequality of wealth and income through suitable changes in policies”.
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Its leaders have also loosely talked about redirecting billions of dollars of tax benefits given to the corporate houses under the current government to the country’s marginalised sections. However, though it defended the need for social and economic justice, fearing polarisation on religious lines following Modi’s explicit allegations, Congress appeared reluctant to articulate how it plans to achieve that agenda. It outrightly denied it had ever planned to impose wealth or inheritance tax on the country’s super-rich. – Peoples Dispatch/Globetrotter News Service
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
Well, for all its shortcomings at least India is the world’s largest democracy that has had free and fair elections every five years. A remarkable feat by any measure since independence in 1947.
Aliran seems to be uploading negative articles on India, but nothing negative is uploaded a particular totalitarian regime. I wonder why.