NITI Aayog, PM Modi’s Cheerleader’: Congress’s Response to Poverty Statistics

Introduction

The Congress party has dismissed the recent report by the NITI Aayog and the UNDP that claimed India has lifted nearly 25 crore people out of poverty in the last nine years. The party’s senior leader and former minister Jairam Ramesh called the report “bogus” and accused the NITI Aayog of being a “cheerleader” and a “drumbeater” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Report

The NITI Aayog and the UNDP jointly released a discussion paper on the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) that attempts to study the rate of decline in the number of multidimensional poor populations in the country. The MPI measures poverty across three dimensions: health, education and standard of living, and 10 indicators such as nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, sanitation, cooking fuel, etc.

Using the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (NMPI), the study found about 24.82 crore people in India moved out of poverty since 2013-14. The largest decline was reported in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The report predicted India would achieve the target of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of halving multidimensional poverty before 2030. It further credited the government’s “persistent dedication” and “resolute commitment” to enhancing the lives of the most vulnerable and deprived have been instrumental in this accomplishment .

The Criticism

The Congress party has rejected the findings of the report and questioned the credibility of the NITI Aayog. Jairam Ramesh, who is also the general secretary in-charge of communications for the party, said that nobody can believe the data released by the body and that every expert has criticised the report. He said that the NITI Aayog is not an independent think tank but a “cheerleader” of Prime Minister Modi who is trying to paint a rosy picture of his government’s performance .

Ramesh also took a dig at Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar who had mocked the Congress’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, a foot march led by Rahul Gandhi to highlight the issues of farmers, workers and women. Chandrasekhar had cited the NITI Aayog report to claim that 25 crore people got out of poverty only after Modi came to power and that the whole country knows who is doing justice and who is doing injustice. Ramesh said that Chandrasekhar should know better than to rely on such “bogus” reports and that he should look at the ground reality of rising unemployment, inflation and inequality .

Conclusion

The NITI Aayog report on multidimensional poverty has sparked a political controversy between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress. While the former has hailed it as a proof of its pro-poor policies and achievements, the latter has dismissed it as a propaganda tool and a fabrication of data. The debate over poverty statistics is likely to continue as both parties gear up for the upcoming state elections and the general elections in 2024.