Prime Minister Modi has ‘systematically’ ended the employment system, claims Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Haryana

Opposition party leader Rahul Gandhi exuded confidence that Congress would win the Haryana state assembly elections on October 5

CHANDIGARH — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the unemployment issue, accusing him of “systematically” ending the country’s employment system.

Addressing an election rally in Assandh, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha said he was confident that the Congress would win the October 5 Haryana state assembly elections.

He raised the issue of caste census and accused the BJP of dividing people and pitting them against each other. “Congress is going to win the Haryana elections. There is a storm coming and we will form a government for all,” Gandhi said.

LIVE: Public meeting | Barwala, Hisar, Haryana https://t.co/ZDK2Zzww5x

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 26, 2024

Congress MP Kumari Selja, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, party’s state unit chief Udaibhan and other leaders were present at the meeting.

Gandhi attacked the BJP government, saying it had “destroyed” Haryana.

Referring to his recent visit to the US, the former Congress leader said he met some youth from Haryana who had gone there in search of a better future as they could not find work in their state.

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Gandhi said he found 15 to 20 youths from Haryana in one room in Dallas, Texas.

The congressional leader said he asked them how they got to America and was then told of the trials they endured as they traveled through countries including Kazakhstan and Turkey, as well as South American countries and the jungles of Panama, to reach the US.

They were robbed by the mafia on their way to the US and even saw their brothers die, Gandhi said.

Gandhi, speaking at the gathering, said that one of the youths had told him that at least Rs 35 lakh were required to reach the US. They borrowed this money at an exorbitant rate of interest or got it by selling their agricultural land.

When asked if they could have started a business in Haryana instead of spending the money on travelling to the US, they said it was not feasible, the Congress leader told the meeting.

Gandhi said that in Haryana you cannot start a business with Rs 50 lakh. He added that the youth in Texas had told him that if they had spent that amount on starting a business in Haryana, the business would have gone bankrupt.

One of them even tried but failed, he said, accusing the BJP government of ‘killing’ small businesses with a ‘wrong’ GST regime.

According to him, about 10 to 15 people want to sell Chinese products in India.

“Take a list of Chinese companies and see who their partners are in India. The youth of China are benefiting, the Chinese government and the billionaires here are benefiting,” he said.

“There is unemployment and inflation,” he said, adding that the youth from Haryana he met in the US told him that there was nothing for people like them to do in Haryana.

“If a youth is poor, he cannot get a bank loan, nor can he start a business, nor can he get a job, nor can he join the army. One door after another is closed to you,” Gandhi told the gathering.

Referring to his recent visit to Karnal, Gandhi said he met relatives of one of the youth who had moved to the US.

The family members were talking to the boy through a video call when his child shouted ‘Daddy, Daddy come back’ and the man could not say anything, the congress leader said. The boy was in pain every day because he had not been able to meet his father for 10 years, he said.

“Why? Because the Haryana government has destroyed the state,” he alleged as he hit out at the BJP over the unemployment issue. “Narendra Modi ji and the Haryana government have systematically ended the employment system of the country.”

Gandhi alleged that the BJP government was trying to deprive farmers of everything they had with the “black” farm laws. After months of protest, the Modi government announced in November 2021 that it would repeal the three farm laws, which happened in the winter session of Parliament that year.

Gandhi told the gathering that he had received complaints from Jammu and Kashmir that the apple trade had been affected. “In Himachal, the apple trade is going to Adani,” he alleged while raising the issue of farmers not getting the right price for their crops.

“The entire planning is done for 10-15 people,” he claimed.

Gandhi claimed that farmers’ debts would not be waived and they would not get MSP for the crop, but the debts of Rs 16 lakh crore of 25 billionaires would be waived, he claimed.

Referring to allegations of sexual harassment by female wrestlers last year, Gandhi claimed that the accused were being protected.

On the election promises of the Congress, he said that Rs 2,000 will be given to women every month and cooking gas cylinders will be provided at Rs 500. Two hundred thousand vacancies in government departments will be filled, he said, adding that farmers will get guaranteed MSP and houses will be built for the poor.

“This fight is not for Haryana. It is a fight for the country. It is a fight to save the Constitution,” he said.

Accusing the BJP of attacking the Constitution, Gandhi said, “All (government) institutions have been handed over to the RSS people and the complete control is with Nagpur.”

“They run the country. They have their own people in the electoral commission, bureaucracy, media and intelligence services.”

On the caste census, Gandhi said: “We want to know how many Dalits, tribals and backward people there are in the country and how many poor belong to the general category.”

He claimed that there was not a single Dalit or OBC person in the management of 250 major companies in the country.

Ninety people (secretaries) are heading the government, of whom only three are Dalits, while the community constitutes 15 percent of the country’s population, Gandhi said at the meeting.

“This is the truth. That is why we said that the caste census will be done at the national level. I have said earlier, whether Narendra Modi does it or not, I will pass it in the same House,” he added.