New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is playing up the issue of high unemployment in Haryana and Union Territory Jammu & Kashmir to mobilise the support of young voters. Rahul had flagged the issue during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and got a good response from the young voters, who had been suffering from exam paper leaks and lack of government jobs.
In 2012, when the UPA government was in power, Rahul had taken a group of top corporate heads, including Ratan Tata, Kumarmanglam Birla and others, to the erstwhile border state to address the problem of joblessness and educational facilities in Jammu & Kashmir.
Rahul, who is now LoP in the Lok Sabha, will now discuss the issue with select professionals in Jammu’s Dogra Dham area and will also seek votes for party nominee Taranjit Singh Tony in the Bahu assembly seat on September 25 when the UT will have second phase polling.
“The interaction with professionals is with the aim of addressing the concerns of the youth. Sometime ago, Rahul Gandhi had met a group of young women in Srinagar to understand their issues. Now he will interact with professionals in the Jammu region. We have promised to fill up one lakh government posts that have been lying vacant. We will also give Rs 3,500 per month unemployment allowance to qualified youth. Unemployment is the highest at 23 per cent in UT J&K and is a big factor there. The UT needs industry, which has not gone to the border area,” AICC in-charge J&K Bharat Sinh Solanki told ETV Bharat.
“When Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra reached J&K, the young people had responded in large numbers. Now they have high hopes from the LoP,” he said. “Besides, women will get Rs 3,000 per month separately to deal with high prices of essential items. The women will also get a loan of Rs 5 lakhs to start a small business, which will generate jobs. This is a big issue in the UT,” said Solanki.
Recently, the former Congress chief had raised the issue of high unemployment in Haryana where a large number of youths migrate to foreign shores in search of work and better life. Rahul, who had met a group of such youths during his recent US trip, had later visited the residence of one of them in Karnal to assure the family.
“The BJP government has neglected the issue of jobs in the state over the past 10 years. As a result, around 1.8 lakh government jobs are lying vacant. This is injustice to youth. After the Congress comes to power, two lakh permanent jobs will be given. We will also take firm measures to address the issue of migration among the youth, who are forced to leave the state in absence of jobs. This migration also impacts their families. We will bring development back to the state,” AICC secretary in-charge of Haryana Manoj Chauhan told ETV Bharat.
“Besides the Dunki issue, an illegal immigration technique used for unauthorised entry into countries like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. in Haryana are also concerned over the Agniveer defence jobs scheme, which provides employment only for four years instead of regular jobs,” he added.
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