Reaching out to the young population of the country ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on March 7 announced five promises of the party, including recruitment to 30 lakh vacant government posts, and apprenticeships for youth after completion of education. Mr. Gandhi said the Congress would treat these promises as its guarantees if elected to power.
Accompanied by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr. Gandhi addressed a rally at Banswara in Rajasthan as part of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which entered the State from Madhya Pradesh. The yatra later left for Dahod district in Gujarat, where Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders joined the Congress party workers in welcoming Mr. Gandhi.
Mr. Gandhi said the Congress would enact a law to curb the government recruitment exam paper leaks, provide social security to gig workers by implementing a legislation nationally on the pattern of the law passed by the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan, and create a ₹5,000-crore fund for supporting start-ups. This scheme will be named ‘Yuva Roshni’ (luminescence for the youth).
The Wayanad MP said since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had failed to fill up 30 lakh vacancies, the first step of the Congress after coming to power would be making the appointments, which would benefit the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and minorities comprising 90% of the population.
“On the lines of the right to employment given by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government through MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), we are now going to give a legal right to apprenticeship to all the youth. Immediately after every college and university course, the graduates and diploma holders will get a year-long apprenticeship in the private and government sectors,” Mr. Gandhi said. The youth would get a stipend of ₹1 lakh during the apprenticeship, he said.
Mr. Gandhi said the Congress would standardise the government recruitment exam process and stop its outsourcing to prevent paper leaks and curb other malpractices. “The BJP considers permanent jobs as a burden and promotes the contract system. Our guarantee is for creating jobs in the Central government and giving them to the youth as their right,” he said.
The former Congress president said the biggest issue of concern to the young people, which came up during his 2022-23 Bharat Jodo Yatra, was unemployment, and the youth complained to him about joblessness and paper leaks. In addition to the five guarantees, the Congress would implement the law to ensure minimum support prices for agricultural produce and incorporate the farmers’ demand in its manifesto, Mr. Gandhi said.
Mr. Gandhi reiterated his demand for a caste Census, saying it was necessary for course correction by rendering justice to the poor, Dalits, tribals, Backward Classes and economically weaker sections of general category castes. He said there was no participation of these people in public institutions, budget, and the flow of money. “Did you see any poor, farmers or labourers in the Ram temple inauguration [in Ayodhya]?” he asked.
