NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked the BJP over the issue of unemployment, saying the youth are the country's "asset", but the ruling party is portraying them as "liability".
"Out of 22 crore youths who queued up for government jobs in the past eight years, 7.22 lakh got jobs, that is, only three out of 1,000," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
"Raja (the king) gets angry when asked questions on unemployment. The truth is this - he is not capable of providing employment. The youth are an 'asset' of the country, BJP is showing them as 'liability'," the former Congress chief said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also attacked the government, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is running away from the questions of the youth of India.
In a tweet in Hindi, Vadra said that in the past eight years, 22 crore youths applied for government jobs, but the BJP government was able to give jobs to only 87,000 youths every year.
"The prime minister, who promised two crore jobs, is running away from the questions of the youth of India. Answers on employment in the Parliament, in the press are missing. The youth want answers," the Congress general secretary said. Of over 22.05 crore applicants for central government jobs between 2014 and 2022, over 7.22 lakh were recommended by the recruiting agencies, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
As many as 7,22,311 candidates were recommended by recruiting agencies for appointment in different central government departments from 2014-15 to 2021-22, according to a written reply given by Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh.