BJP, Cong target each other as issue of jobs takes centre stage

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, August 29

The issue of government jobs has taken centre stage ahead of the Assembly polls with both the BJP and the Congress engaging in war of words.

While BJP leaders are cornering the Congress describing it as a ‘Bharti Roko Gang’, the Congress is accusing the BJP of ruining the future of educated youths by hiring them on contractual basis and also blaming it for the highest unemployment rate in the state. The issue has assumed significance as a protest march was taken out by the BJP Yuva Morcha in Chandigarh yesterday. The protesters also attempted to gherao the residence of former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

“Just after the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP government announced to fill thousands of posts in a bid to woo unemployed youth in the Assembly polls and to prevent the Congress from attacking it over the issue. The grand old party has been persistently pushing the BJP on the back foot by flagging the issues of frequent paper leaks, recovery of cash from the Haryana Public Service Commission office, suspension of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission Chairman and contractual jobs through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN),” says Dr Satbir Singh, a political observer.

He further claims that the BJP got too late to initiate the process for recruitment, and is unlikely to gain any political mileage in the Assembly polls from from the move. Even though the youth consider it just like a poll plank, both the parties have made the recruitment a focal issue, keeping in view a large chunk of young electors, especially those who need jobs.

CM Nayab Singh Saini and other BJP leaders in their poll meetings and interaction with the media do not forget to raise the issue of government jobs and blamed the Congress for the halt in the recruitment process. Even, they keep claiming that the government jobs are now not being given on the basis of “parchi-kharchi” system that prevailed during the previous Congress regime. He has also claimed that the BJP has ensured the recruitment on merit to thousands of youth in the past decade.

Similarly, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda during ‘Haryana Mange Hisaab’ campaign has been categorically questioning the BJP government about why Haryana has the highest unemployment rate across the nation. He is also flagging the issue of recovery of cash from the HPSC office, claiming that it indicates corrupt practice being followed in the recruitment.

Moreover, Bhupinder Hooda also prefers to attack the BJP government over contractual recruitment through the HKRN stating that it was pushing the youth towards destruction as there is no provision of hike in salary and promotion in such jobs. In a bid to counter the BJP’s promise of job guarantee, Hooda has also announced to look after the HKRN employees’ interest properly with all facilities on coming to power.