Training his guns on the Narendra Modi-led BJP government over unemployment, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said only 12.2 lakh formal jobs were added in the past 5 years. In a tweet, Kharge said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP promised 2 crore jobs every year, which means 18 crore jobs could have been created in nine years.
Kharge lashed out at BJP and said that it had "miserably failed" to provide employment and the youths were staring at a "dark future".
"India under Modi Govt has added ONLY 12.2 Lakh Formal Jobs in past 5 years! That means an average of JUST 24,400 Jobs per year!" the Congress chief said in a tweet.
"We are not inventing this figure. It is the Modi government which created this narrative that EPF Regular Contributors = Creation of Formal Jobs! The EPF data corroborates this," Kharge said.
He added that the BJP needs to be thrown out of power for the survival of the poor and middle class.
"No wonder, there is anger and violence on the streets. The BJP has miserably failed to provide Employment! Unimaginable unemployment, painful price rise and orchestrated hate foisted by BJP has resulted in this DISASTER of a situation," he said.
The unemployment rate in the nation declined in July due to an increase in demand for agricultural labour in rural areas. Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data showed that the total joblessness rate fell to 7.95 per cent in July, from 8.45 per cent in June, reported Bloomberg.
The rural unemployment rate at the same time declined to 7.89 per cent, from 8.73 per cent in June. There was a slight uptick in the urban unemployment rate though, as it rose to 8.06 per cent from 7.87 per cent in the same period.
The report emphasises that due to an increased demand for labourers in farming activities, the rate of rural joblessness usually declines in July. The past data, however, has shown that the unemployment rate again tends to rise in August once the sowing season is over.