HYDERABAD: Launching a counter offensive against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for giving the Modi government “zero out of 10” for handling farmers’ issues, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said “zeroes cannot see beyond zero”.

“The entire world is hailing PM Modi as a great leader, a man of action. GDP rate has gone up, inflation is reduced, and you say zero. Zeroes cannot see beyond zero. Zeroes have no ability to acknowledge heroes,” he said.

When asked about Rahul Gandhi’s new-found aggression following his return from a 56-day sabbatical, Mr Naidu said the government was “least worried”.

“Rahul has been in politics for 11 years. What has happened? Congress party lost eight states. (It) lost even position of the recognized opposition. They are trying to replace their failures by aggressive words, by making cheap allegations against the government at times,” Mr Naidu said.

Forced to refer the land bill to a joint Parliamentary committee by the Congress-led Opposition, Mr Naidu said that the government was open to bringing in fresh changes in it provided suggestions were wise and did not alter the basic purpose of the legislation.

“Yes, I am open to changes provided suggestions are made with correct intentions and wisdom. I have made nine amendments. Secondly, if there is a meaningful suggestion, let it be considered without altering the basic purpose of the Act,” he told PTI.

Mr Naidu said that the steps taken by the Narendra Modi government for a corruption-free administration, taming inflation, financial inclusion, enhanced focus on social security, pro-active foreign policy, cooperative federalism had replaced the “atmosphere of despair” with one of “hope and enthusiasm”.

He identified agriculture, irrigation, insurance and bringing down interest rates as part of the government’s agenda for its second year in office. The Modi government completes one year in office on Tuesday.

The senior BJP leader said, “People must understand that the Modi government has inherited issues like Naxalism, cross-border terrorism, a derailed economy and a policy paralysis.”

“Within no time we have made a turnaround,” he claimed.

Mr Naidu, however, identified high expectations from the NDA government as a major challenge.

“The major challenge before us is that expectations of the people are very high. They are expecting so much. They have that confidence in PM Modi. They have given that mandate after 30 years. We need to live up to the expectations of the people in each and every sector,” he said.

Mr Naidu noted that a lack of majority in the Rajya Sabha posed another big challenge to the government as it resulted in the Congress blocking important legislations like the Goods and Services Tax, a measure its own government had initiated.

“…for example, GST. They (Congress) initiated it. They blocked it as well. Real estate bill, they initiated it, they have blocked it now. But, by our persuasion and by creating enough public opinion (in favour of the legislations), I am sure that we will get these bills passed in Rajya Sabha as well,” he said.

Trashing Rahul Gandhi’s charge that the NDA government was encouraging “crony capitalism”, Mr Naidu hit back, saying it was evident in coal blocks and 2G spectrum allocations undertaken by the UPA government.

“What is crony capitalism? Crony capitalism was evident in coal allocation without tendering. Rs. 1.84 lakh crore was looted in favour of crony capitalists. Then, crony capitalism was evident in 2G spectrum, where lakhs of crores of rupees have been looted.

“Ministers had to go to jail, industrialists had to face criminal action. IAS officers had to go to jail. That was crony capitalism,” he said.

“Congress have, for all these years, practiced only one thing. Words for the poor and deeds for the rich. That is the hallmark of the Congress. That is how all these crony capitalists have come to this level,” the minister said.

Mr Naidu parried a quesition about whether big ticket schemes will be announced to mark the first anniversary of the Modi government, but said ‘Kisan Channel’, a dedicated channel for farmers on Doordarshan, will be launched on May 26. (PTI)

At least 145 people have died due to intense heat wave in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana since yesterday. The total number of death reported in the two states so far is at 368.

In Andhra Pradesh, 87 deaths were reported since yesterday, taking the toll to 182 from 95. 57 people died in Prakasam, the maximum in any district, the state disaster management officials have said, adding that the report from other districts are being compiled. The figure pertains to the period from May 18 till this evening.

Telangana reported 58 more deaths in the last 14 hours, taking the toll to 186 from 128 in 10 districts, a senior official of state disaster management department told the Press Trust of India. 55 people have died in Nalgonda district followed by 43 in Khammam district and 23 in Mahabubnagar district, the official said, adding that the figure is from April 15 till date.

In Hyderabad, two persons have died due to the extreme weather.

According to India Meteorological department, severe heatwave conditions are expected to continue till Monday in both these states.

Corruption is rampant in India and people are used to it cursing their luck. In a recent survey conducted by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) along with National Institute of Public Finance & Policy and National Institute of Financial Management, the estimates of blackmoney and the bribes given by individuals are found.

It cameout that people in  Lucknow, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune  along with rural areas paid maximum amounts as bribes to get their work done. On an average Rs 18000 was paid for transfers and jobs and Rs 600 for traffic police.

In Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, along with other 15 states, private contractors paid on an average 9% of project cost as bribe. Owners of roadside vends paid Rs 1000 per month as bribe. The suvery was conducted in Delhi, Noida, Lucknow, Patna and Hyderabad.

Blackmoney generated is invested in ral estage, gold and jewellery or statshed abroad. Lawmakers say corruption can be curbed only when this is stopped.