New Delhi, Jan 28 (.) The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Wednesday strongly criticised the President’s Address to Parliament at the start of the Budget Session, calling it a recycling of rhetoric that glosses over deepening economic, social and federal crises facing the country.
Reacting to the address, CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar said it was “conspicuously devoid of substance, accountability or credible data,” and accused the Modi government of using lofty claims to hide policy failures. “Year after year, the government claims to have lifted 25 crore people out of poverty, yet paradoxically continues to distribute food grains to nearly 80 crore people under the Public Distribution System,” he said.
Questioning the credibility of official poverty reduction claims, Kumar asked, “If poverty has truly declined on such a massive scale, why are crores of families still dependent on free rations to survive? What kind of poverty reduction is this, when people are unable to buy even basic food grains from the market?”
The CPI MP from Kerala also alleged that the address ignored what he described as “severe financial discrimination” against opposition-ruled states. He said Kerala had been consistently denied legitimate financial dues, including GST compensation and central transfers. “Such deliberate neglect amounts to an assault on cooperative federalism and undermines the constitutional rights of States,” Kumar said.
On internal security, the CPI leader accused the government of selectively highlighting achievements while remaining silent on unresolved crises. He pointed to the continuing ethnic violence in Manipur, the lack of democratic normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, and the recent terrorist attack near the Red Fort in Delhi. “These raise serious questions about intelligence failures and urban security lapses, yet find no mention in the address,” he said.
Criticising the government’s economic claims, Kumar said assertions of economic strength were contradicted by the continuous devaluation of the rupee, rising unemployment, stagnant wages and growing inequality. “There is no credible data placed before Parliament on employment generation, income growth, or poverty reduction. Governance by slogans has replaced governance by evidence,” he remarked.
Kumar also expressed concern over what he described as a weakening of India’s international standing, arguing that the country’s traditional role as a voice for peace, non-alignment and the Global South was being eroded by alignment-driven foreign policy choices and silence on major humanitarian crises.
On science and education, the CPI MP said the address lacked a serious vision for scientific development and research. He alleged that science had been reduced to buzzwords such as startups, artificial intelligence and skill training, while public-funded universities and research institutions continued to face neglect. “Scientific temper cannot grow without sustained public investment and academic freedom,” he said.
Reiterating the party’s opposition to the new labour codes, Kumar said they dilute workers’ rights and were pushed through without meaningful consultation with trade unions.
Kumar further accused the government of repeatedly using the “dignified office and the face of the Hon’ble President, Droupadi Murmu, as a shield” to cover its failures. “The President’s Address should reflect the lived realities of the people, not serve as a cover for a government unwilling to confront its own failures,” he said.
The CPI demanded that the government move beyond what it called hollow claims and place verifiable data, democratic accountability and the real concerns of the people at the centre of parliamentary discourse during the Budget Session. . SKA .