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Rahul goes to US, Atishi to England, don't take them seriously: BJP vs AAP on ‘35 crore people hungry’
In London, Delhi minister Atishi said Bangladesh is better than India on the human development index. BJP minister said no need to take her seriously.
A fresh row between the BJP and the AAP began on Friday after Delhi minister Atishi said India has the "largest number of malnourished people" and things in the country are not as they are claimed. The Delhi minister made these comments at Cambridge India Conference in London which drew flak and a parallel with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi -- from BJP leaders.
"There are a lot of media narratives of how India is growing. Sometimes it's shining, sometimes it's a trillion-dollar economy. And we are often told that India's GDP has now crossed the 3.5 trillion dollar mark. We are told that India is the fastest growing G-20 economy and many other such pieces of information. But the reality is frankly far more worrying. A better indicator is the human development index which looks at healthcare, education, malnourishment etc. India ranks 132 out of 191 in this. This is India@75. And I think a lot of countries in comparison with which we consider ourselves far more developed are much ahead of us in this regard. Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have a higher ranking than India on this index," Atishi said.
Comparing Atishi's statement on India with Rahul Gandhi's statements abroad, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, "There are two youth leaders. One goes to America... there is another youth leader... She goes to England and says that there are 35 crore people hungry in India. The prime minister is giving 80 crore people free ration, where these 35 crore came from. Thir remarks should not be taken seriously."
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the figures that Atishi gave were wrong. "Her statements are shameful. Going abroad and presenting wrong facts and figures about the country is equivalent to treason," the BJP leader said.
As the debate escalated, AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said the BJP's problem is to deny the existence of a problem. Citing reports, Priyanka wrote: "They know that according to a report India is at the 107th place in the Global Hunger Index. And this is the reason why 80 crore people of the country do not have money to make ends meet."
Rahul Gandhi's recent US visit came on the radar like his previous London one as he has been accused of insulting India's democracy on foreign soil.
