Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Narendra Modi government did not want to accept that there was a “job crisis” in the country, an hence it was failing to address the problem.
He was speaking to college students at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here as part of a Congress event, Shiksha: Dasha Aur Disha .
He said educated young people find it tough to get a job — the reason for growing anger which was being used by right-wing politicians. “Our government is refusing to accept that we have a massive crisis and a potential disaster in front of us. We need to first acknowledge that there is a problem, and then we need to galvanise support to fight it. That is what we (Congress) believe in,” he said.
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China getting jobs
Every Made-in-China tag shows a job that Indians missed out on, Mr. Gandhi said.
“In a country of over 1.2 billion people, India is creating about 450 jobs per 24 hours while China is creating 50,000 jobs in the same 24 hours,” the Congress leader said. “These are not my figures, but [those] of the Finance Ministry given in Lok Sabha.”
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Mr. Gandhi said the Prime Minister refused to have open communication with the people of India and answer possibly uncomfortable questions.
“Why doesn’t he say that as PM of this country, I am facing a challenge that we are not able to produce enough jobs and I need your help and commitment to solve this problem? That is what the PM is supposed to do, not just lecture you,” he said.
To another question, Mr. Gandhi said the share of the education sector in the Budget should be increased. Stating that the Congress did not support privatisation as a way to improve the education system, the party chief said wealth was “concentrated” in the hands of “a few people”. He said the state must pay for a “large part of education”.
Before the interaction, a two-minute silence was observed to honour the 40 CRPF jawans killed in the February 14 Pulwama suicide attack.
Mr. Gandhi was accompanied by former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.