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Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, while training his guns at the Bharatiya Janata-led Union government, accused them of "oppressing" the common people, and neglecting the middle class and poor people.
"In the last 78 years, no government has weakened the common people economically as much as the Modi government has oppressed them! Economic inequality is at a frightening level. Billionaires have become trillionaires and the poor are becoming destitute," Kharge said in a post on X. Citing data from the International Labour Organization, Kharge underlined that slowing wage growth rate, along with low wages have made the middle class worse off. "The status of middle class income today is what it was before the British Raj, in 1820. ILO (International Labour Organization) shows - Even if he or she has an advanced degree or holds a skilled job, he or she is still paid the seventh lowest wages in the world," Kharge's post read. "Wage growth rate is projected to slow from 9.3% in 2006 to 0.1% in 2023. The average hourly earnings of an Indian worker are the fifth lowest in the world," he added. Claiming that the common people are facing the "burden of taxes, inflation and economic mismanagement," he added, "The middle class, the poor and the neglected are shrinking, and the Modi government is going around shouting Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas!" Kharge's comments come after the passing of Finance Bill, 2025. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on March 25, following amendments moved by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Sitharaman had stated that the government has sought to do several things in the legislation as per the aspirations and expectations of people and the goal of making India a developed country by 2047. "This Finance Bill, we have attempted to do several things, which as per as the aspiration and the expectation of the people of India and also the goal that the Prime Minister has given us towards the Viksit Bharat by 2047," Sitharaman said. Talk about tax relief to the people, she added, "It rationalises a lot of provisions which are towards ease of doing business and also provides unprecedented tax relief." The minister spoke about the tax relief provided to people in the union budget and the government's nudge to increase tax mobilisation from those who have foreign assets. (ANI)
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