Rising economic inequality, one of the nation’s most pressing problems, must be addressed by the government: Congress

Asserting that “rising economic inequality” is one of India’s “most pressing concerns”, the Congress on Wednesday (Oct 28, 2026) demanded that the government acknowledge the reality of this “economic distress”, expand job opportunities and take concrete steps to control inflation.

The opposition party also said that claims for economic development are only meaningful when their benefits reach the common man; otherwise, these statistics tell a story not of progress, but of a deepening economic divide.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which claimed that households were investing more money in bank deposits, mutual funds and other financial assets, but their “new debt” was growing much faster; as a result, net household financial savings declined by around 4% to ₹21.69 crore in FY2025-26 compared to ₹22.57 crore last year.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also hit out at the Modi government, saying it is desperate to take away voting rights and now wants to take away the right to life as well.

“Amidst the festivals, reverse inflation eats up every single penny of earnings. The numbers tell the truth – Food inflation: up from 2.13% to 7.74; Household debt: up 36.7% at a three-fold pace; Household financial savings: down 4%; Retail inflation: 5.54%; Wholesale inflation at X1.

“If the BJP sitting in power today staging sit-ins and Mr. Modi ever find time away from their nonsensical behavior, they should revisit their own ‘Bahut hui mehengaai’ ad from before 2014. The public wasted 12 years waiting for the promise of ‘achche din’,” he said.

In his post in Hindi, Mr Ramesh said: “Inflation rising, debt rising, earnings falling – Under Modi’s rule, the middle class has faced nothing but devastation.”

Mr. Ramesh alleged that the Modi government was manipulating the data to hide the true extent of inflation.

“The young generation is bearing the brunt of a declining economy and shrinking job opportunities. Data shows that companies are hiring less and people are even losing long-term jobs,” he said.

Incomes and savings keep falling in the face of rising inflation, he argued.

“Household debt is skyrocketing, forcing families to borrow just to cover day-to-day expenses. Wages have either stagnated or, adjusted for inflation, seen their real purchasing power decline. While the wealth of the wealthy and corporate profits continue to rise, middle-class families are struggling with their household budgets,” he said.

In such dire economic conditions, families are forced to dip into their savings just to make ends meet, argued Mr. Ramesh.

The government is using GDP figures to deny reality, while middle class and poor families remain deeply concerned about their economic future, he said.

“We demand that the government acknowledge the reality of this economic crisis, expand employment opportunities and take concrete steps to control inflation,” Ramesh said.

“Modi-ji, Rising economic inequality is one of the nation’s most pressing concerns, yet you stoke it. GDP figures will never reveal who is actually reaping the benefits of growth or whether the lives of ordinary citizens are actually improving,” he said.

Congress draws attention to the problem of rising prices and accuses the government of following “anti-people” policies.

However, the government rejected the claims and pointed to GDP figures.

Mr Ramesh also said that when a huge share of income and wealth is concentrated in the hands of a select few, while ordinary families are forced to live under the crushing pressure of inflation, debt and dwindling savings – then mere paper statistics like GDP cannot hide the hard reality on the ground.

“Claims about economic development are only meaningful when their benefits reach the common man; otherwise, these statistics tell a story not of progress but of widening the economic divide,” he said.

Published – 28 Oct 2026 17:08 IST