There is no doubt that Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra is full of imageries. And it was no different on Wednesday as former Congress president Rahul Gandhi interacted with youths over the issue of unemployment during the Karnataka leg of the yatra.
On the other hand, Karnataka Congress chief and former minister DK Shivakumar wore a t-shirt taking a dig at the BJP, which read “Youth need jobs, not empty promises”.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter and wrote, “Today Rahul Gandhi interacted with youths in Karnataka on the unemployment issue and heard their issues. Unemployment is a curse on our country. Through ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, we have taken a strong step towards eliminating unemployment.”
“Our youth want jobs and they came all the way to meet Rahul Gandhi at the Udyoga Srishti meeting in Chitradurga. Concrete ideas were discussed instead of the hollow promises the BJP has made so far,” Shivakumar said in a tweet with photographs from the meeting.
During his interaction with youths, Rahul Gandhi, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, asserted that if Congress comes to power, it would stop the privatisation of public sector units and have a strategy to create employment for the youth.
The Congress leader took five questions from youngsters as part of Udyog Srishti, a campaign launched by the Karnataka unit of the party to raise issues concerning unemployed youth.
Met immensely talented youth, today. Some were Engineers, some were MBAs, but all 'educated jobless'.
PM's priorities are clear:
It's not 2 crore jobs per year
but ‘PM ka PR & PM ke 2 Yaar’What youth need instead is a job-creation strategy which will fulfil their aspirations. pic.twitter.com/Rwt9vwJlVp
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 12, 2022
According to the party’s youth wing, 56,000 people had registered for the campaign, of which 42,000 expressed interest in participating in the event. The party accommodated 1,800 of them today at the interaction session during the Bharat Jodo Yatra here.
Rahul Gandhi also walked along with the families of people, who donated their body parts, to emphasise organ donation, the party said.
The Congress said 33 yatris, marching with the former Congress president, have pledged their eyes for donation.
Earlier in the day, Shivakumar wore a bright red t-shirt with yellow text, symbolically signifying Kannada colours, and highlighted the problem of unemployment while walking alongside Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
“Youth need jobs, not empty promises,” was the big message written on his t-shirt in Kannada.
“It is our responsibility to stand accountable for the promises we make to our youth who repose their faith in us, believing that we will take care of their future and utilise their potential. Youth need jobs, not empty promises,” he said, making a veiled attack on the BJP government, which has failed to tame the rising unemployment in Karnataka.
Shivakumar highlighted that various government records, including the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) reports, have shown startling unemployment figures in Karnataka.
He said that these figures are particularly stark in rural Karnataka, where 35 per cent of youth with diploma certification are unemployed, while nearly a quarter of postgraduate degrees are without jobs, and in urban areas, 13.5 per cent of diploma holders are unemployed.
Shivakumar also urged the unemployed youth to register their grievances on the website www.udyogasrishti.in which is an initiative of the Karnataka Youth Congress that is focusing on creating solutions to the problems of unemployment in the state.
He asserted that the Congress party is making more efforts aimed at creating more opportunities and more solutions when it comes to power.
According to Shivakumar, the website is part of a larger initiative to map the education qualifications and aspirations of Karnataka youth so that Congress, once in power, can provide desired jobs and employment to the state’s youth.
The 3,570 km padayatra, spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi, entered Karnataka on September 30. The Yatra was also joined by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on October 6 in Mandya district here.