The Congress on Wednesday claimed that India was sitting on a “ticking bomb” of joblessness and asserted that unemployment would be the defining issue of the upcoming Lok Sabha election despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s attempt to “distort, distract and divert”.
From Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, several Congress leaders asserted that their party has a concrete plan to deal with unemployment. They were speaking on a day when Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran said that it was incorrect to think that government intervention could solve every social and economic challenge, such as unemployment.
Citing the India Employment Report 2024, released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development (IHD), Mr. Kharge said that before people vote, they should remeber that the Prime Minister had “promised to provide 20 crore jobs in 10 years but snatched more than 12 crore jobs from the youth”.
Also read: Employment scenario in India grim, says ILO report
‘Ticking bomb of joblessness’
“Our Youth is bearing the brunt of Modi government’s pathetic apathy, as ever-rising Unemployment has destroyed their future. ILO & IHD Report conclusively says that the Unemployment problem is grim in India. They are conservative, we are sitting on a ‘ticking bomb’ of joblessness!” the Congress chief said, in a post on X (formely Twitter). “But the Modi government’s Chief Economic Advisor protects the dear leader, by saying ‘government can’t solve all social, economic problems such as unemployment’,” he added.
The ILO report says that 83% of jobless Indians are youths and only 17.5% of the youth in rural areas are engaged in regular work, Mr. Kharge said. “Share of people employed in industry and manufacturing has remained the same since 2012 at 26% of the total workforce. The percentage of youth involved in economic activities decreased from 42% in 2012 to 37% by 2022,” he said, quoting from the report.
Compared to 2012, youth unemployment has tripled under the Modi government, he claimed, adding,”That is why the Congress has brought in Yuva Nyay or justice for youth.” The Congress chief reiterated the party’s promises to fill up nearly 30 lakh vacant Union government posts, to enact a law on the right to apprenticeship for degree/diploma holders that will offer a stipend of ₹1 lakh per year, and to ensure social security for gig economy workers, among others.
Also read: Govt. can’t solve all social, economic problems such as unemployment: CEA
‘Concrete Congress plan’
On X, Mr. Chidambaram claimed that the Chief Economic Adviser had made a “shocking” statement about the government not being able to solve the problem of unemployment.
“If that is the official stand of the BJP government, we must boldly tell the BJP “Vacate your seat. The Congress has a concrete plan to tackle the issue of unemployment and it will be revealed in its Manifesto,“ Mr. Chidambaram said.
Also read: Lok Sabha election | Congress plans to reach every household with 25 guarantees and ‘paanch nyay’
‘Zero employment growth’
In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the India Employment Report 2024 presents “some extremely concerning” facts on the country’s labour market over the last 10 years.
“Each year, around 70–80 lakh youths are added to the labour force, but between 2012 and 2019, there was almost zero growth in employment - just 0.01%! In 2022, unemployment was very high among the urban youth (17.2%) as well as rural youth (10.6%),” Mr. Ramesh said, adding the female unemployment rate in urban areas was extremely high at 21.6 per cent.
“This report finds that the Modi government increased the percentage of low-paying informal-sector employment without social security, while formal employment decreased from 10.5% to 9.7% from 2019-22. For the first time in decades, under Modi’s mismanagement, the absolute number of workers in agriculture is increasing. This goes against the very basic concept of economic modernisation, which every developed country has gone through,” he added.
‘Real wages down’
The Congress communication chief said nearly one in three youths with graduate degrees (29.1%) are unemployed and only 20% of the 1,25,000 establishments registered on the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme portal actually offer apprenticeships.
He added that real wages of regular workers have declined between 2012 and 2022, inflation has been uncontrolled, and workers can now afford less than they could 10 years ago. Even minimum wage laws have not been enforced, he said.
“The PM can keep trying to distort, distract, and divert, but youth unemployment is the defining issue for the country in the 2024 elections for the country. The Congress party has presented a concrete plan of action on unemployment. The days of Pakoda-nomics will soon be over,” he said in his statement.
Slamming the Union government in a post on X, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed that the youth have understood that the BJP cannot provide employment, reiterating that her party has a concrete plan for jobs.
