The BJP in Bihar has taken a jibe at the leader of the opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s claim of approving 10 lakh jobs including filling up vacancies in different government departments.
The RJD leader, with an eye on youth voters, had announced on Sunday that if the RJD-led Grand Alliance comes to power in Bihar, the first cabinet of the new government would initiate the process of approving around 10 lakh jobs including filling up lying vacancies in various departments.
“I wonder whom they will give the jobs. Perhaps they will give orders for 10-lakh country made pistols (called tamcha in local language) and distribute it to them so that the kidnapping and loot industry is revived again. Is this the job he is talking about?” said BJP election in-charge and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Fadnavis, along with newly-appointed BJP youth wing president Tejasvi Surya were interacting with youths at Yuva Townhall in Patna, on Monday evening.
Nearly 58% of the 14.25 crore population of Bihar are youth. Of this, more than 3.66 crore are voters in the age group of 18 to 39.
“People of Bihar had seen how the kidnapping and loot industry flourished during the 15-year rule of Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi and I am sure that people of state do not want return of such a government,” he said and reminded womenfolk of those days when they could not venture on roads after sunset.
“We will see the same old Bihar that prevailed under Lalu Prasad’s rule in which girls could not go outside in the evening; no one was allowed to purchase new vehicles. Bihar was a state without electricity, water and roads. The present NDA government has provided all the basic facilities in all villages, this is the change the government brought in its tenure,” said Fadnavis.
The former Maharashtra CM said that Bihar is now moving towards self-dependence. “Bihar has to become Aatmanirbhar (self-dependent) in next 15 years the foundation of which is to be laid in next five years,” he said and added that present Bihar is the “Bihar of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sushil Modi and Nitish Kumar.”
Fadnavis hoped that Bihar’s youth will not be swayed by such promises and commit a mistake.
BJP’s youth wing president Tejasvi Surya also took a swipe at Yadav’s statement saying that “those following dynastic politics, those who did not earn honestly for a day are talking about employment.”
The opposition leader, Yadav, who has made unemployment in the state a poll issue to slam the Nitish Kumar government for ignoring youths and promoting migration, maintained the commitment of the RJD to address the joblessness issue was not a poll promise but a strong will.
Yadav, said the state’s unemployment rate was around 46.6%, one of the highest in the country with poverty and migration being the by-product of the joblessness among youths. He said the party’s newly launched portal to invite applications from unemployed youths had received 22.58 lakh registrations.
The RJD leader had also accused the government of not providing job avenues and filling up existing vacancies in the government. Giving a break-up of existing vacancies and jobs to be filled up in the state government, the opposition leader said there were around 4.50 lakh already existing whereas 5,50 lakh appointments were required in police, health and other departments.