Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, on Wednesday, slammed the Narendra Modi-led Central government over the issue of unemployment which he described as the biggest curse under the ruling dispensation.
Kharge, who is also the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha wrote on an X post, “Unemployment has been the biggest curse under Modi government. The Modi government is using dubious employment data which is grossly inflated by counting ‘unpaid labour’ and ‘one-hour work per week’, as a ridiculous PR exercise.”
Citing the example of Maharashtra, where 1.11 lakh women applied for a mere 1,257 Mumbai Police constable posts, many of them forced to spend the night on the pavement with toddlers, he said, “It is a grim reminder of the grave unemployment situation. ”
On Gujarat, the Congress chief said, “A suicide helpline number launched on 15th July by the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat has received more than 1,600 distress calls from those who either lost their jobs or were struggling with reduced wages that crippled their household finances.”
He claimed that Surat’s famed diamond industry is facing recession, with firms announcing a “10-day vacation” for their 50,000 employees.
The Congress president further said, “Last month, we witnessed how over 25,000 jobseekers had turned up for 2,216 vacancies for the post of loaders at Mumbai airport. Similar stampede like scenes were witnessed in Gujarat’s Bharuch, where 1,800 people turned up for 10 openings at a private company.”
“No amount of whitewashing by Modi government can change the truth that lakhs of job aspirants have to daily struggle on the road with very few jobs. BJP’s Jumla of two crore jobs per year signifies shameless betrayal to every Indian,” he added.
Notably, the Congress and other parties of the Opposition INDIA bloc have been critical of the government for allegedly failing to address the unemployment issue.