Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has once again attacked Prime Minister Modi as he claimed that the unemployment rate in India is double that of Pakistan and said the country was even behind Bangladesh and Bhutan in the key metric. He said PM Modi was responsible for this as he finished all small businesses by demonetisation and implementing GST.









 











Addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, the Congress MP said, "Today, there is maximum unemployment in the country in the last 40 years. India has double the unemployment as compared to Pakistan. We have more unemployed youth than Bangladesh and Bhutan because Narendra Modi has finished small businesses by demonetization and implementing GST."


However, according to the International Monetary Fund, Pakistan recorded an unemployment rate of 8.5 per cent, while India's unemployment rate was recorded at 3.2 per cent according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2022-2023.

 

He also raised concerns about economic inequality, social injustices, and the plight of farmers and youth and criticised the impacts of policies such as GST and demonetisation, attributing them to a rise in unemployment rates, which he claimed were the highest in four decades.














The Congress leader also shed light on the marginalised status of 73 per cent of the population, including Other Backward Classes, tribals, and Dalits, asserting their exclusion from governance and economic opportunities.


Accusing the central government of favouring industrialists over farmers, Gandhi criticised the massive loan waivers for select industrialists while neglecting the debt relief required by farmers.


He stressed the need to prioritise funding for key social welfare programs like MGNREGA, emphasising the importance of utilising funds for public welfare rather than catering to the interests of a few.


The yatra, a mass outreach initiative led by Rahul Gandhi ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, entered Madhya Pradesh in Morena district on Saturday afternoon. It is set to traverse through the Shivpuri, Guna, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Ujjain, Dhar, and Ratlam districts of the state.


The east-to-west Manipur-Mumbai yatra spans 6,700 kilometres across 15 states, aiming to spread the message of 'nyay' (justice) while engaging with ordinary citizens along the way.