‘Jobs now part of political debates, thanks to Congress’

Shubhadeep Choudhury

New Delhi, July 10

Thanks to the Congress’ aggressive campaign against the Modi government, jobs have emerged as an important issue in political debates, claimed party’s general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh.

Accusing PM Narendra Modi of systematic “bludgeoning” MSMEs and informal businesses, Ramesh said, “For all the hype and bluster of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, manufacturing jobs reduced to 3.06 crore in FY23 from 3.6 crore in FY16. The PM oversaw the destruction of India’s manufacturing which is the country’s ticket to solving unemployment problem and sustaining middle-income status.”

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge also recently slammed the Modi government over the issue. Citing NSSO’s survey, Kharge said in the manufacturing sector, 54 lakh jobs were lost in unincorporated units in the seven years between 2015 and 2023.

“The only mission the Modi government is to keep the youth jobless,” Kharge alleged, adding a recent report by IIM Lucknow also showed high unemployment among the educated and low participation of women. Sources said the barrage of statements from the Congress forced the labour ministry to issue a press release, saying the Periodic Labour Force Survey data showed an increase in Labour Force Participation Rate and Worker Population Ratio and a declining unemployment rate.