NEW DELHI, 2 Nov: The Congress on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the unemployment rate reportedly climbing to a more than two-year high, claiming that his enduring legacy as PM is record unemployment.
The party also said that India’s growing “economic crisis” continues to spiral out of control.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh’s attack at the government came after a media report cited the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) Ltd data which claimed that jobless rate has risen to more than a two-year high.
In a post on X, Ramesh said, “India’s growing Modi-made economic crisis continues to spiral out of control. CMIE data shows that unemployment rate in India is now at above 10 per cent, the highest in over 2 years – when it already was the highest ever in five decades.”
“Rural unemployment is 10.8 per cent. The unemployment distress is further proved with the record demand for employment under MGNREGA, which is the last resort of work for crores of Indians. It is up 20 per cent from last year,” the Congress leader said.
The number of households demanding work is even higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, showing how all talk of an economic recovery is a “complete farce,” Ramesh alleged.
“One crore Indians entered the labour market in October 2023, and lakhs will be unable to find work. Just last week, news came of hundreds of engineers applying for a government peon job. Infosys and Wipro have said they will not be recruiting from colleges this year. A vast majority of Indians, especially educated youth, are suffering due to the Modi-made economic crisis,” he claimed.
“Modi’s enduring legacy as prime minister is record unemployment. So the government will go to any lengths – manipulation, distortion and distraction – to hide the problem. But the youth of India know the truth. It’s time for the prime minister to retire,” Ramesh said.
The Congress has been attacking the government over its handling of the economy and raising concerns over ‘increasing’ unemployment and price rise. (PTI)
