Ahead of Rajasthan Polls, Congress attacks BJP over unemployment, says Modi, Raje betrayed jobless youths

As Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2018 is just a few days away, political leaders from across party lines have intensified their campaigns in the poll-bound state. Addressing a press conference at Rajasthan's Jaipur, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala Monday said the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Rajasthan have been "betraying" the jobless youths for years. People in the country are feeling deceived and cheated, he added.

The Congress leader also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of hiding the employment figures to "cover its failures". Surjewala said that Modi had ordered the labour department to stop releasing employment figures in order to shift people's attention from the rising unemployment issues across India.

"After coming to power, the BJP government at the Centre promised to generate two crore jobs annually in the country, while in Rajasthan, 15 lakh jobs were promised in five years," Surjewala was quoted as saying.

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श्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने भारत के युवाओं को हर साल 2 करोड़ नौकरियां देने का झांसा देकर सरकार बनाई थी।

ठीक ऐसे ही श्रीमती वसुंधरा राजे ने राजस्थान के युवाओं से 15 लाख नौकरियां देने का झूठा वादा किया था।

लेकिन केंद्र व राज्य की भाजपा सरकारों ने देश के युवाओं के साथ विश्वासघात किया है। pic.twitter.com/ObIMkGMPNr

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) November 12, 2018

In Rajasthan, which is going to polls on December 7, the unemployment rate was double that of the national average and the state ranked fourth in the unemployment index, the Congress leader claimed.

Raising his concerns over the future of India's youth, Surjewala said, "The prime minister asks youths to fry pakodas and sell pan, while the chief minister calls protesting jobless youths 'lafangas'. What is the future of the youth of this country?".

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Surjewala alleged that the state government was providing a bogus figure of providing over 44 lakh jobs in five years. He said of the total 1.50 lakh state government jobs, notifications for 1.10 lakh were released by the previous Congress government.

Citing a report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Surjewala said Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had no right to remain in office due to her alleged involvement in the employment scam in the state government's skill training programmes.