Centralization of powers holding up key appointments: Congress

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday said that paralysis in decision-making in the Narendra Modi dispensation due to "centralization" of powers was delaying key appointments in the Union government.

The party said top posts in diverse fields, including Lokpal, CVC, CIC and DRDO and in a dozen scientific institutions were lying vacant for long, besides the appointment of 76 joint secretaries."If it is true the government is very decisive, then what is the reason for not appointing the chiefs of these important bodies," Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said, citing “centralized decision making“ to be the cause.

Sharma claimed the PM himself stood accused of promoting crony capitalism in his abroad visits. “He has not only been accompanied by a select group of industrialists close to him but they have been facilitated for business deals of arranging finance from foreign banks,“ he said.

Hitting out at the Centre over the Rafale deal, Sharma asked, “Why did the government keep out HAL while finalizing the Rafale `Make in India' deal? Why was the private sector invited at the cost of public sector enterprises? The government will have to answer.“

Sharma said in one year of BJP rule, the government had proved to be anti-poor and anti-people, anti-SCST, anti women and anti-education. “The slogan `sabka saath, sabka vikas' has now turned into `sabka saath, kuch ka vikas',“ he said.

Sharma also challenged finance minister Arun Jaitley “to deny that till the formation of new government in 2014, 24.30 crore bank accounts were opened“ while questioning the vision of the `JAM Trinity'refering to Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and mobile phones.

AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh said that PM Narendra Modi has emerged as a “marketing guru“in his one year in power.“In the last one year, performance of Modi government has been average. But he has perfected the art of selling himself with zero performance,“ Singh said.