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Bhopal, Nov 1 (IANS) As Madhya Pradesh celebrated its 70th Foundation Day on Saturday, state Congress President Jitu Patwari pointed to important issues including rising debt, unemployment, rising crime against farmers and people from the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (ST) community.
Former minister Patwari, who lost the 2023 state assembly election from Indore’s Rau assembly constituency though he was promoted as the state Congress chief after the Congress lost the election under the leadership of then Chief Minister Kamal Nath, on Saturday alleged that 20 years of the BJP government had failed to fully develop the state.
“Today, when Madhya Pradesh is celebrating its 70th Foundation Day, we too should have two important questions in our minds. One, where are we at present and where should we be after 70 years,” he said in a statement. He said, “70 percent of the youth in the state are employed.”
Reiterating claims of rising debt on Madhya Pradesh, the Congress leader alleged that in 20 years of the BJP government, the total debt burden on the state has reached Rs 4.64 lakh crore, and on the other hand, farmers are committing suicide due to bank loans.
The BJP government led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in the state has borrowed a new loan of Rs 5,200 crore this time.
This fresh borrowing is the 20th loan taken by the state government since coming to power and will take the state’s total debt burden to Rs 4.64 lakh crore.
The last loan of Rs 3,000 crore was taken on October 1, just before Dussehra.
Official sources said the new loan will be taken in two installments – Rs 2,700 crore in the first tranche and Rs 2,500 crore in the second.
Officials say the funds are being raised to meet payments related to Madhya Pradesh’s Foundation Day celebrations, installments of Ladli Brahmin Yojana and other welfare and community development schemes.
On this occasion, the state Congress chief also targeted the BJP led state government over the atrocities on tribals and said that Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of tribals and the NCRB data has also shown that the maximum number of cases of atrocities on tribals and Dalits in the entire country have been reported in this state.
According to the latest NCRB data, a total of 2,858 cases of crimes against STs were registered in Madhya Pradesh in 2023, while the number was 2,979 in 2022.
–IANS
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