Ahmedabad, Apr 9 (PTI) The Congress on Wednesday dubbed the government "extortionist" over the recent hikes in the price of gas cylinders and excise duty on petrol and diesel, claiming that rampant unemployment is now the nation's "biggest epidemic" with demographic dividend turning into "demographic disaster".

The party made the claims in its 'Nyaypath' resolution adopted at the AICC session on the banks of the Sabarmati river here.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, party general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, among other senior leaders, participated in the session themed "Nyaypath: Sankalp, Samarpan aur Sangharsh".

In the resolution, which was passed after day-long deliberations with a show of hands, the Congress said the policy of economic liberalisation with inclusive growth espoused by the previous Congress governments provided a sound economic edifice for the nation.

"Between 2004 and 2014, India achieved a remarkable average GDP growth rate of 8 per cent per annum under the sagacious leadership of the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government.

"During this period, 27 crore fellow Indians were lifted out of poverty and a prosperous middle-class comprising nearly 40 crore people materialised as an important participant in our growth story," the resolution said.

The party said that while on one hand, refusal to conduct Census after 2011 has let to the denial of "Right to Food" to 11 crore people, on the other hand, 1 per cent of the richest Indians own over 40 per cent of the country's wealth.

"Wealth disparity is so extreme that 10 per cent of richest Indians now own 70 per cent of the nation's wealth. Tragically, the bottom 50 per cent of the poor and the middle-class possess only 6.4 per cent of the nation's wealth," the Congress claimed in the resolution.

"The gravely-flawed economic policies have broken the back of the common man. The soaring prices of essential goods have made them unaffordable for crores of ordinary households," the resolution said.

The "back-breaking" LPG cylinder price hike of Rs 50 with effect from April 7 has put an additional burden of over Rs 9,000 crore per year on the households, it claimed.

On top of it, an increase in the excise duty for petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre, with a view to "deny" the benefits of reduced petrol/diesel prices to the common man emanating from an unprecedented fall in the price of crude oil to USD 65 per barrel, the lowest in the past five years, is a "brazen loot" by an "extortionist government", the resolution said.

"Rampant unemployment is now the nation's biggest epidemic, as the unemployment rate touches a 45-year high. Nearly 30 lakh government jobs are lying vacant.

"Resultantly, our 'demographic dividend' is turning into 'demographic disaster', with our literate but unemployed young men and women being driven towards drugs and psychotropic substances owing to lack of opportunities," the resolution claimed.

The stagnant wages and deepening economic uncertainty in India have witnessed a staggering 300 per cent increase in gold loans over just five years, that too by mortgage of precious household jewellery by ordinary Indians, it claimed.

The Congress resolution also said that stalled consumption is dragging down India's GDP growth and discouraging the private sector from investing in capacity expansion.

"Private investment is at a historical low, which exposes the hollowness of the 'Make in India' campaign. The 'ideological somersaults' and 'policy about-turns' symbolise the character of the BJP regime," the party said.

Taking a sharp dig at the BJP, the Congress claimed its opportunist "about-turn" is evidenced by the BJP's strong opposition to direct benefit transfer (DBT), Aadhaar, GST, FDI in retail, FDI in defence, and Indo-US nuclear deal when in opposition, and becoming a stout champion of the same policies when in power.

It also accused the current government of systematically eliminating competition across sectors to pave the way for monopolies, duopolies and oligopolies -- manned by two or three favoured industrialists.

"On the contrary, MSMEs, which are the real job creators, have been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. The cheap and highly-subsidised import of Chinese goods has further destroyed the financial viability of our MSMEs," the resolution said.

The Congress said it firmly believes that the revival, protection and promotion of MSMEs and mid-level industries is paramount for job creation and growth of domestic manufacturing.

It envisions an economy where India's young entrepreneurs and manufacturers thrive, become wealth creators through legitimate means, leading to genuine competition that breaks the grip of a handful of "favourite" sponsored monopolists, the Congress said in its resolution.

"India must also establish our leadership position in future-friendly technologies, including artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, battery storage, blockchain technology, renewable energy and emerging energy resources to reclaim its space in the league of nations," the resolution said.

Reiterating the demand for a legal guarantee of MSP for crops, the Congress said it resolves to enact a law for the same, fixation of MSP at 50 per cent over cost price, and take decisive steps for a debt-free future for the farmers.

On women's rights, the resolution said the Women's Reservation Bill was passed in Parliament in September 2023, but the ruling regime hasn't implemented it till date.

"Even at that time, the Congress strongly advocated for its immediate implementation, along with reservation for women from Dalit, Adivasi, and backward communities," it said.

"The BJP chief ministers, Central ministers, and their leaders are habitual offenders in making degrading, vulgar and regressive remarks about women's clothing, behaviour, character, education, food habits and decision-making abilities.

"Perhaps, this preconceived and parochial mindset is the reason why not a single woman has become BJP's national president in the last 45 years since its inception, nor has any woman been permitted entry as the head of the RSS or as its office-bearer," the resolution said.

Asserting that it is an ardent champion of workers on the gig platforms and the unorganised sector, the Congress also said it recognises the need for legislations to protect their rights. PTI ASK SKC ARI ARI