Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday sharpened her attack on the BJP as she cited the data by the National Crime Records Bureau to highlight the surge in deaths by suicides among daily wage earners.
The NCRB – the record keeper government agency for crime-related data – has released its latest report to reveal the figures that should concern the country. In 2021, India saw record surge in suicides,In a its report, at 120 deaths per million. This was 6.1 per cent higher than the year before. Last two years have plunged many households across income groups into economic misery.
One of the most concerning aspects of the report is the biggest increase in suicidal deaths was seen among those who were self-employed and daily wage earners. In the farming sector, deaths by suicides increased among agriculture labourers – a trend that was also observed in 2020.
Responding to the report, Mahua Moitra wrote in a tweet: “NCRB data shows daily wage earners account for 25.6% of all suicide victims in 2021. Largest group.”
“Is this what “Atma Nirbhar” means in BJP’s India?” she asked in her post. The Trinamool MP is one of the harshest critics of the BJP.
Some of the starkest images that emerged during the Covid lockdowns showed the struggle of daily wage labourers in reaching their homes in villages, far from cities where they were stuck.
The central government has time and again reiterated its focus on “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, or self-reliant India, to decrease the country’s dependence on other nations.
During the two years of the pandemic, the opposition has often slammed the government over the handling of multiple challenges. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi – on several instances – has highlighted that India fared better than many other countries during the worst of the pandemic.