New Delhi: On the day the Modi government’s flagship ‘Digital India’ initiative completed ten years, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday launched a blistering attack, alleging that the ambitious programme has delivered more “failures and frauds” than digital empowerment.
In a sharply-worded post on his X handle, Kharge accused the Modi government of making lofty claims while hiding glaring gaps in execution, digital access and data security.
“The fine print of Modi Govt’s lofty claims of ‘Digital India’ is marred by unfulfilled promises, digital exclusion, and weakened transparency,” Kharge wrote.
Citing official data, Kharge highlighted that out of the 6.55 lakh villages targeted for broadband connectivity under the BharatNet project, only 35 per cent have been covered so far, despite the deadline being revised eight times over 11 years.
“Only 766 Gram Panchayats — just 0.73 per cent — have active Wi-Fi services,” he noted.
The Congress chief also targeted BSNL’s performance, pointing out that even after receiving three revival packages worth over Rs 3 lakh crore since 2019, the PSU has not completed the installation of 1 lakh 4G towers.
He added that BSNL and MTNL’s debt has ballooned by 291.7 per cent and 136.2 per cent respectively, between 2014 and 2024.
Kharge didn’t stop at infrastructure failures. He accused the Modi government of digitally excluding the poor and marginalised.
Quoting National Sample Surveys data, he said 75.3 per cent of Indians above 15 years still do not know how to use a computer, including 81.9 per cent in rural areas.
“Even today, 54 per cent of government schools don’t have an Internet connection, 79 per cent have no computers, and 85 per cent lack smart classrooms,” he said.
Raising concerns about data security, Kharge claimed that India has witnessed over 10 crore cyberattacks since the Pahalgam terror incident. CERT-In data showed a 76 per cent spike in cybersecurity incidents between 2020 and 2024.
He also accused the ruling government of undermining transparency, citing the weakening of the RTI Act and replacing it with a “flawed” Data Protection Law.
Taking a swipe at the BJP for taking credit for initiatives launched by previous governments, Kharge reminded that it was the UPA government under Dr Manmohan Singh that laid the foundation for Aadhaar, UPI, and Direct Benefit Transfers.
“Instead of glossing over national achievements, and trying to seek credit for 10 years of Digital India, perhaps you should reflect on the multiple ‘failures’ and ‘frauds’ inflicted by your government”, Kharge said.
(IANS)
