Modi government has no moral right to remain in power: Congress flags ‘lapses’ in PM-DAKSH scheme

Taking a swipe at the Prime Minister, AICC General Secretary In-charge of Communication, Publicity and Media, Jairam Ramesh said his government’s “expiry date” was near and “jhola uthane ka waqt aa gaya hai [it is time to pack your bags].” File | Photo Credit: ANI The Congress on Wednesday (October 21, 2026) attacked the Modi government over alleged “lapses” in its PM-DAKSH initiative for imparting skill training to eligible individuals, saying a government that cannot even effectively implement a scheme has no moral right to remain in power.Taking a swipe at the Prime Minister, the Opposition party also said his government’s “expiry date” was near and “jhola uthane ka waqt aa gaya hai [it is time to pack your bags].”Jairam Ramesh, the Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, shared a screenshot of a media report that claimed “serious lapses” had come to light in the implementation of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Dakshata aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi’ (PM-DAKSH) scheme, an initiative launched to impart skill training to eligible individuals, including those from Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, Economically Backward Classes, Denotified and Nomadic Tribes, and sanitation workers, to make them employable.In a post in Hindi on X, Mr. Ramesh said, “‘Naam bade aur darshan chote!’ [Big name, small substance.] The scheme bears the PM’s name, yet on the ground, the results are — much like his claims — a big, fat zero.” The Modi government had only one real agenda, grand advertisements, headline management, and zero actual delivery, he alleged.The failure to implement the PM-DAKSH scheme for two years, coupled with the non-utilisation of the budget allocated in previous years, exposed yet another “major failure” of the Modi government, Mr. Ramesh said. A scheme intended to provide skills, training and employment opportunities to marginalised sections had been reduced by the government to nothing more than paperwork, he claimed.“A government that cannot even effectively implement a scheme — one that bears the PM’s own name and was launched with grand, lofty claims — has no moral right to remain in power,” Mr. Ramesh said.“Modi-ji, your government has lost the trust of the people. Its expiry date is near; ‘jhola uthane ka waqt aa gaya hai’ [it is time to pack your bags]. How much longer will the Modi government continue to toy with the future of Gen-Z?” he said.Was the Modi government taking revenge on the Scheduled Castes, OBCs, the economically backward sections, and the denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes for its reduction to just 240 seats in the 2024 elections, Mr. Ramesh asked.The PM-DAKSH Yojana, a Central sector scheme, was launched during 2020-21. The programme focuses on providing high-quality skills through good-quality institutions, so that training results in jobs or self-employment ventures for the target group, SCs, OBCs, EWSs, denotified and nomadic tribes, and sanitation workers, including waste pickers. Published - October 21, 2026 04:05 pm IST