Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday slammed the Centre for not addressing the issue of unemployment.
“Widespread unemployment is prevalent in the country. Youths are in distress because big factories are shutting down, investment is not coming, and the number of government jobs is shrinking,” said senior Congress leader Kharge in Rajya Sabha.
He added, “In 2014, you (BJP) promised two crore jobs every year. You should have provided 15 crore jobs by now. But how many jobs did you actually provide? This year’s Budget promises just 60 lakh jobs in the next five years.” “Nine lakh posts are vacant in the Central Government. About 15 per cent of posts are vacant in the Railways, 40 per cent in Defence and 12 per cent in the Home Affairs. Today unemployment rate in urban areas stands at 9 per cent and in rural areas, 7.2 per cent,” the Congress leader said.
These comments come after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said in the Parliament, “The Productivity Linked Incentive in 14 sectors for achieving the vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat has received excellent response, with potential to create 60 lakh new jobs, and an additional production of Rs 30 lakh crore during next 5 years.” Rajya Sabha would meet from 10 am to 3 pm, the Lok Sabha would sit from 4 pm to 9 pm from today onwards.
The 2022 Budget Session of the Parliament commenced on January 31 with President Ram Nath Kovind’s address. The first part of the budget session is being held from January 31 to February 11 and the second part will take place from March 14 to April 8.
