PM manipulating data to boast about govt achievements: Yechuri

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri on Sunday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was resorting to manipulation of statistics to paint a rosy picture of his government's achievements.

Yechuri claimed Modi's announcement that 99 per cent goods will now attract 18 per cent or lower GST as a "post truth", since 97 per cent of merchandise or services already attract 18 per cent or less GST.

"The method adopted by Modi surpasses Goebells," he said, drawing a parallel with Hitler's Propaganda Minister during the Nazi rule in Germany.

"Statistics are manipulated to distort facts," Yechuri said, speaking at a seminar on Karl Marx's 200th birth anniversary celebrations, organised by the Communist Party of India(Marxist) here.

He also claimed that the prime minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were resorting to such manipulation to suit their interest and paint a rosy picture of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's achievements, when the ground reality was otherwise.

Modi had on Tuesday said in Mumbai, "Today, the GST system has been established to a large extent and we are working towards a position where 99 per cent items will attract the sub-18 per cent GST slab."
Yechury said in order to divert and dilute protests growing against the government over "miseries of people, the ruling BJP and similar other organisations are resorting to sharpening of communal polarisation."
Likening PM Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah with characters from the Mahabharata, the former Rajya Sabha member said, "Of the 100 Kauravas, we know the names of Duryodhan and Dushashan, just as in the BJP, we know of Modi and Shah."
He said the government's move to authorise 10 Central agencies to intercept any information on computers was an indication that the country was moving "towards a police state."
He said that West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee was "murdering democracy in Bengal and speaking of upholding it in the rest of the country."