SECC data: Congress accuses Narendra Modi of having 'contempt for poor'

NEW DELHi: With SECC findings projecting a very grim picture of the rural India, Congress today mounted an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of having "contempt for the poor" and alleging that the "suit book ki sarkar" is only focused on the rich.

Party spokesperson Rajiv Gowda also alleged that the NDA government was "hiding and suppressing" a data by UNICEF which "reveals" that the Gujarat model of governance of Modi has been "disastrous" for the poor.

He said the release of the long-awaited Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011 has revealed that there is tremendous work to be done in rural India and claimed that the Congress governments in the past had made huge efforts in transforming rural India such as bringing programmes like green revolution, white revolution and MGNREGA.

"In contrast, what we saw after NDA came to power was Modi on the floor of the Lok Sabha mocking the MGNREGA and calling it a monument of UPA and Congress failures. It was contempt with which he had mocked this path-breaking progamme, which ensured a social safety net for the poorest of the poor in rural India.

"After that, taking a cue from Modi's contempt for the poor, the NDA government did not release MGNREGA fund, tried to cut down various programmes that will benefit people in rural India. The suit boot sarkar is only focused on the rich and the wealthy, or their corporate cronies and not on the people of India, who desperately need help," Gowda said