India News | Gap Between Rich and Poor Has Widened Under Modi Govt: Digvijaya Singh

New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) The gap between the rich and the poor has increased under the current government at the Centre, Congress MP Digvijaya Singh said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, while asking it to impose a "super rich tax" on those whose income has grown even during the Covid pandemic.

Taking part in a debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, he also alleged that the social fabric and unity in diversity of the country has been disturbed with fanaticism being encouraged.

Also Read | Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Series Marketing Images Emerge Online Ahead of Its Launch.

Singh said when the BJP came to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised that black money would be brought back, price rise would be curtailed and employment would be improved, but nothing has happened.

Claiming that in seven years of this government the gap between the rich and the poor has widened, he said the rich has become richer and the poor has become poorer.

Also Read | Harcox Finance: A DeFi Project Offering Accessible Scaling Solutions Arrives.

Citing tax collection data, Singh said under the UPA regime, the rich were taxed more and the common people less.

However, he said after the "suit-boot" government came, in 2021-22, the direct tax collected from individuals has fallen as a proportion to the total tax collected, while the contribution of indirect tax collected from common people has risen.

This, Singh said, implied that the BJP-led government has collected less tax from rich people and more from poor people.

Alleging that some people have become richer even during the COVID-19 pandemic, he asked why a "super rich tax" was not imposed on them.

He accused the government of continuously hiking fuel prices while reducing subsidies, thus burdening the common people, and said in the Budget 2022-23, there was a reduction of 27 per cent in subsidy.

The government is burdening the common people with its policies, Singh said.

He said in the top five global economies, the biggest gap between the rich and the poor is in India.

During the UPA regime around 23 crore people were lifted above the below poverty line (BPL) but during the tenure of the current government around 20 crore people have gone back to the BPL category, he claimed

Also, the MP said, the unemployment rate in 2014 stood at 5.6 per cent, which had risen to 6.3 per cent even before the Covid pandemic and now, it has risen to 7.5 per cent.

The policies of the government are anti-poor, anti-backward classes, anti-farmer and anti-labour, he said, adding that the BJP has encouraged fanaticism and divide the society on religious lines.

Taking part in the debate, Kamakhya Prasad Tasa (BJP) refuted the allegations of the Opposition and the policies of the government have led to the growth and development of the country.

Citing the example of the North East region, which was earlier hit by insurgency and extremism, Tasa said it happened during the time of the Congress-led regime but the Modi government has brought peace there.

Today, he said the region is becoming a part of growth that the country is witnessing.

The BJP MP said a case in point is the reaching of new rail lines in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

Connectivity has improved and viability of the region has been enhanced under the leadership of Modi, he said while crediting the prime minister of bringing the North East closer to the mainland.

He also highlighted that under Modi's leadership, India played a crucial role in the global fight against the pandemic and India had proved its mettle with the indigenous development of COVID-19 vaccine, which is now approved by the WHO.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)