NEW DELHI: It could not have been better timed. Just on Monday, dissenting BJP MP from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh Varun Gandhi had thanked All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi for reading out his figures on unemployment in government departments during a public rally. The very next day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the filling up of 10 lakh vacancies by the government in the next one-and-a-half years.
Encouraged by the development, Varun Gandhi thanked the PM but also asked him to expedite the filling up of sanctioned posts in the government.
On June 13, Varun posted a tweet in which he talked about unemployment. He said, “Unemployment is the most burning issue of the country today. Leaders of the country should draw the attention of the government to this issue. Unemployed youth should get justice, only then the country will become powerful.”
Along with the tweet, he posted a short video clip showing Owaisi, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad, reading out data collated by him. “I am grateful that @asadowaisi mentioned the questions raised by me on employment in his speech,” Varun added.
Owaisi, in his speech whose location and date was not mentioned, said 9,10,153 jobs were vacant in central ministries and departments, 2 lakh jobs in public sector banks, 1,64,480 in the health sector, 1,76,057 in aanganwadis, 16,339 in central primary schools and Navodaya schools, 8,37,000 in state primary schools, 18,647 in central universities, 16,637 in IITs, IIITs, IIMs and NITs, 1,662 in other central institutes, 1,07,505 in the Army, 5,31,737 in the police, 4 in the Supreme Court, 419 in high courts and 4,929 in district and lower courts among others.
Owaisi further said, “Total 60,82,130 government jobs are vacant. Where did these figures come from? I did not write these. BJP MP from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi has written this.”
On June 14, PM Modi made a major announcement. In a tweet, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said, “PM @narendramodi reviewed the status of human resources in all departments and ministries and instructed that recruitment of 10 lakh people be done by the government in mission mode in the next 1.5 years.”
This announcement led Varun Gandhi to reiterate his emphasis on employment. He reminded the government of the plan to provide 2 crore jobs every year and asked it to expedite the process.
“Thank you Prime Minister for understanding the pain and heart of unemployed youth. Along with creating new jobs, we will have to make meaningful efforts to fill up more than 1 crore 'sanctioned but vacant' posts. To fulfill the promise of providing 2 crore jobs every year, steps will have to be taken at a faster pace,” he said.
Varun Gandhi has been attacking his own government over several key issues in the recent past. He has not held back his punches over issues such as unemployment, farmers and law and order. He had demanded action against the accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which four farmers were mowed down by a vehicle allegedly belonging to Union minister of state for home Ajay Mishra Teni's son Ashish Mishra. Subsequently, Gandhi was dropped from the BJP's national executive.
Meanwhile, the Congress attacked the Centre over Modi’s announcement on jobs. In a tweet, Congress’s communication department head Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “The promise was to give 2 crore jobs every year - 16 crore jobs were to be given in 8 years. Now they are saying that by 2024 only 10 lakh jobs will be given. Sixty lakh posts are lying vacant only in the government. Thirty lakh posts are lying vacant in the central government. For how long will the false announcements go on?”
