Modi Govt’s ‘White Lie Paper’ Makes No Mention Of DeMo, Manipur, Other ‘Failures’: Congress

Further slamming the white paper, Ramesh said the document makes no mention of Modi government's "failures" such as demonetisation, unemployment, inflation, and the rising economic disparity. 

New Delhi: The Congress Friday dubbed the BJP-led Centre’s White Paper on the UPA-era economic “failures” as a “white lie paper” and said the ruling party should have instead come out with a similar document on issues such as unemployment, demonetisation, border tensions and Manipur.

“This is not a white paper but a white lie paper. Our Congress president (Mallikarjun Kharge) yesterday released a black paper ’10 saal anyay kaal’. The answer to this white paper is in that black paper. The black paper was a surgical strike on the white paper,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh told reporters outside the Parliament.

VIDEO | Here is what Congress leader Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) said on 'White Paper'.

"White Paper should have been brought on issues like border situation with China, what is happening in Manipur since last 9 months, demonetisation, but they are silent over these. This… pic.twitter.com/Dr5VcAgXWT

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 9, 2024

‘No mention of key issues’

Further slamming the white paper, Ramesh said the document makes no mention of Modi government’s “failures” such as demonetisation, unemployment, inflation, and the rising economic disparity.

“The issues on which they should come out with a white paper is the border situation with China, border tensions, we have been demanding a white paper on that, they are silent on that,” Ramesh said.

Modi govt ‘silent’ on Manipur, DeMo

The Congress leader said the opposition party has also been demanding a white paper on Manipur but the government has been “silent”.

“We had earlier asked for a white paper on demonetisation but they were silent on that also. There is no white paper on the 45-year high unemployment in the country….The white paper is yet another event. He (Modi) is an event manager as (L K) Advani ji had said,” Ramesh said.

The government is “silent” on corruption and real issues like injustice to farmers, women and youth, he alleged.

“The PSUs are being sold to one or two of his friends,” Ramesh alleged.

He also said that ports, airports, railway, factories, oil refineries are being privatised.

‘White Paper’

The government has come out with a white paper criticising the Congress-led UPA rule, saying it had turned the Indian economy into a non-performing one through indiscriminate revenue expenditure, off budget borrowings and pile of bad debts at banks.

On Thursday, the Congress had alleged that the government’s white paper on the country’s economy under the UPA rule is aimed at hiding “the dark truth” and said hunger, price rise, unemployment and abject poverty are a lived reality for a vast majority of Indians under the Narendra Modi government.

(With PTI inputs)