Supriya Shrinate cast doubt on the government's claims by questioning the necessity of providing free ration to 81 crore people if only seven crore are deemed poor.
In a scathing attack on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government, the Congress on Tuesday highlighted the glaring contradictions apparent in its claims of poverty eradication. Despite official assertions of poverty elimination, the stark reality remains evident through distressing incidents of suicides due to financial hardships, with the poorest five percent scraping by on a meager daily expenditure of Rs 46, the party said.
During a press briefing held at the AICC headquarters, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate underscored the grim statistics, revealing that in 2022 alone, over 7000 individuals took their own lives due to financial despair. She spoke about the alarming frequency of farmer suicides, with two occurring every hour, and the tragic loss of 40 young lives daily due to hopelessness.
Shrinate cast doubt on the government”s claims by questioning the necessity of providing free ration to 81 crore people if only seven crore are deemed poor. She also pointed out the staggering lack of access to transportation for 35 crore individuals and the absence of television in 45 crore households, indicating widespread economic hardship.
Shrinate noted a significant decline in the domestic saving rate, plummeting from 11 percent above GDP to a mere five percent within two years. This drastic reduction, she argued, directly reflects the immense struggles faced by the populace in coping with inflation, poverty, and economic disparities.
“The reduction of savings rate to less than half proves that people are struggling with inflation, poverty and economic inequality,” the Congress leader said.
Accusing the NITI Aayog of disseminating conflicting poverty- data, Shrinate demanded transparency from the government regarding the accuracy of such reports. She cited a recent survey by the NITI Aayog revealing widening disparities between the rich and the poor.
Citing the report, the Congress leader said that if the five percent richest living in rural areas are spending Rs 350 daily then the five percent poorest spend Rs 46 per day. While, the five percent richest in urban area spend Rs 700 daily, the five percent poorest spend Rs 67 a day.
Last month, the Congress had criticised a NITI Aayog report which claimed that 24.82 crore individuals had transcended multi-dimensional poverty over the span of nine years up to 2022-23, dismissing it as nothing more than “jumla”. The party alleged that the government was orchestrating a “conspiracy” to exclude these individuals from vital welfare schemes and access to free ration.
According to the NITI discussion paper, the incidence of multidimensional poverty in India declined from 29.17 percent in 2013-14 to 11.28 percent in 2022-23, marking a notable reduction of 17.89 percentage points, and facilitating the exit of approximately 24.82 crore people from this demographic category.
Disputing the authenticity of these figures, Shrinate highlighted the absence of credible third-party validation from institutions like the World Bank or the IMF, regarding the altered criteria employed by NITI Aayog for poverty assessment. She asserted that these statistics were merely a concoction of the BJP”s propaganda machinery, completely different from the harsh realities faced by ordinary citizens.
Shrinate said the UPA government brought 27 crore people out of poverty and it was the World Bank that confirmed the third party report on this figure and considered it correct.
“It was a report prepared by the NITI Aayog, a survey done by them and reported by them but the reality on the ground is extremely stark,” she said adding that the figures were nothing but “blatant lies of the BJP ecosystem”.
Shrinate pointed out the disconnect between the NITI Aayog”s rosy depiction of the economic landscape and the grim ground realities, characterised by soaring prices, rampant unemployment, income disparities, depressed wages, and entrenched poverty.
Expressing concern over the potential repercussions of these inflated figures, Shrinate warned of a looming crisis whereby millions of individuals, now deemed “non-poor,” could be deprived of essential subsidies and ration support, exacerbating their vulnerability.
The NITI Aayog”s methodology for measuring poverty encompasses a range of indicators spanning health, education, and standard of living, aligned with sustainable development goals. The national multi-dimensional poverty measures simultaneous deprivations across three equally weighted dimensions of health, education, and standard of living that are represented by 12 sustainable development goals-aligned indicators.
These include nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets, and bank accounts. The National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) by Niti Aayog uses the Alkire Foster methodology to assess the decline in poverty rates. However, the the National MPI covers 12 indicators while global MPI covers 10 indicators.
