Modi is a merchant of mere dreams and lies: Congress

New Delhi: Congress on Friday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “merchant of mere dreams and lies” as it debunked his emphasis on “Swachhata mission” contrasting it with sanitation scenario in Gujarat when he was chief minister.

Latching on to a recent CAG report on beneficiaries under various central schemes including Total Sanitation Campaign, party spokesperson Shakti Singh Gohil said while the Prime Minister keeps talking about sanitation and has “put a broom in youths’ hands across the nation”, Gujarat fared badly on this front when he ruled the state.

Releasing a bunch of papers, he said the state then ruled by Modi could spend only Rs 278.39 crore from Rs 702.39 crore approved by the Centre for its 26 districts under Total Sanitation Campaign between 2008 and 2013.

“The Prime Minister only sells dreams and lies and creates an atmosphere through social media that these dreams will turn a reality where as he has neither the intention nor the willingness to do it. He was chief minister of Gujarat for 12 years and it is shameful students did not have toilets there.

“The CAG report points out how the very concept of sanitation was being shred into pieces in Gujarat. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Modi had promised jobs to youths. He has now put a broom in their hand to divert their attention from his promises,” Gohil said.

The Congress leader, who belongs to Gujarat, highlighted a number of issues related to solid waste “mismanagement” in the state then headed by Modi including absence of sanitation facility in Indira Awas Yojana, non-distribution of award money to Gram Panchayats under Nirmal Gram Puraskar Scheme, wasteful expenditure on purchase/construction of toilets worth Rs 2.80 crore.

Quoting from purported paragraphs of the CAG report, Gohil said, “Children of Anganwadis remained deprived of facilities of basic amenities due to the ineptitude of the implementing agency. 5096 Anganwadis are without toilets…the practice of manual scavenging was continuing in the state as 1,408 cases were reported where night soil was being removed by human beings.”

He said the audit watchdog also detected that data available with the state government showed separate toilets for boys and girls available in all elementary schools, but a visit to 300 schools brought to fore that the same was available only in 26 schools, which is just nine per cent. Besides there was no separate but common toilets.

Gohil also quoted the CAG report on mixing of bio-medical waste with municipal solid waste management in Gujarat saying it could cause infectious diseases to those coming near the dumped site.

PTI