Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday attacked the BJP-led Gujarat government over the suicide of around 25,000 people in the state in the past three fiscals while claiming that is another example of the BJP’s "double-engine misgovernance".
He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi' "defeaning" silence over the "grave" human tragedy in his home state where it is "abundantly clear" that the Bhupendra Patel government has failed in its duty to safeguard the well-being of our citizens and address the root causes behind the escalating suicide rates.
The Gujarat government on Monday informed the Assembly that 25,578 people died by suicide between 2020-21 and 2022-23.
The data shared by the Chief Minister showed that 249 male students and 246 female students (total 495) ended their lives during this period.
Kharge said in a statement that the maximum number of suicides is from Ahmedabad (3,280), Surat (2,862), and Rajkot (1,287), which is a "damning indictment" of the inability to provide adequate support and resources to the vulnerable.
He said the "distressing revelation" is a matter of "grave concern" and underscores a "harrowing reality" that over 25,000 people took their own lives under the rule of the BJP government.
Emphasising that it painted a "grim picture of a populace grappling with despair, hopelessness, and unaddressed grievances", he said it is "unconscionable that so many citizens have felt compelled" to take their own lives in a state that "boasts of progress and prosperity".
"This is another example of the BJP’s double-engine misgovernance that has already inflicted several 'anyays' (injustice) on the country. Its state and central government have failed to fulfil their promises of releasing and filling job vacancies and creating new job opportunities," he said.
"The Prime Minister’s silence on this grave human tragedy in his home state is deafening. Even CM Bhupendra Patel's acknowledgement of this crisis, while condemnable, falls short of addressing the fundamental failures of governance and the dire need for concrete action to stem the tide of preventable tragedies," he said.
He urged the Gujarat government to prioritise the well-being and safety of its citizens above all else, and to take immediate and decisive action to address the escalating suicide rates that have cast a dark shadow over our state.