Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked the BJP government in Uttarakhand, alleging that investments existed only on paper, jobs only in slogans, and the state's youngsters received nothing but paper leaks, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Sharing a media report, Gandhi claimed that public sector undertakings, fertiliser shops and flour mills were counted among Uttarakhand's investors after a global summit.
In a Hindi post on X, Gandhi said, “A sham by the Pushkar Dhami government in the name of investment in Uttarakhand — yet another example of the BJP's ‘double-engine’ model.”
According to PTI, Gandhi said the Global Investors Summit was extensively promoted, with 1,779 memoranda of understanding worth Rs 3.56 lakh crore signed and nearly Rs 100 crore in public money spent on roadshows. He said the government later claimed that investments worth Rs 1 lakh crore had been “realised on the ground”.
He said a school funded through corporate social responsibility contributions and donations was categorised as an investor contributing Rs 24.49 crore. Another investor, credited with Rs 1,200 crore, had reported no earnings for four years and listed no employees in its records, he added.
“Roadshows in Dubai and London were claimed to have generated Rs 27,975 crore in investments; yet, not a single company from either city appears on the list of investors who have actually ‘invested on the ground’,” Gandhi said.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha also alleged that the definition of investment was diluted on December 1, 2023, seven days before the summit. He described it as a case of changing the rules first and then presenting the figures.
“The chief minister must make the full list of these 3,300 ‘investors’ public. Investments exist only on paper, jobs exist only in slogans. And for the youngsters of Uttarakhand? Nothing but paper leaks,” Gandhi said while sharing a link to the report, according to PTI.
Gandhi's allegations centred on the investment figures presented after the summit and his demand that the Uttarakhand government disclose the full list of investors. The state is scheduled to go to the polls early next year.
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