India's growing 'Modi-made' economic crisis continues to spiral out of control: Cong

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the unemployment rate reportedly climbing to a more than two-year high, claiming his enduring legacy as PM is record unemployment.

The party also said that India’s growing "economic crisis" continues to spiral out of control.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took a swipe at the Centre, saying that amidst recession and inflation, the Modi government has organised such an "unemployment fair" which is forcing crores of youth to wander from door-to-door.

Kharge's attack on the government came after a media report cited the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Ltd. data which claimed that jobless rate has risen to more than two-year high.

"Narendra Modi ji, the PR stunt you do by distributing a few thousand 'already-sanctioned' and 'promotion' recruitment letters is like sprinkling salt on the hopes and wounds of those youth who have been waiting for jobs for years," the Congress president said.

"The youth belonging to the SC, ST, OBC and EWS categories are bearing the brunt of your (the PM) atrocities," Kharge said.

Out of the jobs lost during the Covid pandemic, 90 lakh well-paying jobs have completely disappeared, he claimed.

"The condition of rural India is bad. The demand in MNREGA has increased by 20%, which is clearly visible from the historical 10.8% unemployment rate," Kharge said.

He pointed out that the government's Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data itself says that the unemployment rate among graduate youth is 13.4%.

"Now your false advertisements and new tricks to divert attention will no longer work. Be it the elections of five states or the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the youth of India will definitely take revenge from those who have wronged them. Only the unemployed youth of the country will sound the bugle of the countdown of the BJP rule's end," Kharge said.

Congress general secretaty Jairam Ramesh's also attacked the government citing the media report.

In a post on X, Ramesh said, "India’s growing Modi-Made economic crisis continues to spiral out of control. CMIE data shows that unemployment rate in India is now at above 10%, the highest in over 2 years — when it already was the highest ever in five decades. Rural unemployment is 10.8%."

"The unemployment distress is further proved with the record demand for employment under MGNREGA, which is the last resort of work for crores of Indians. It is up 20% from last year," the Congress leader said.

The number of households demanding work is even higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, showing how all talk of an economic recovery is a "complete farce", Ramesh alleged.

"One crore Indians entered the labour market in October 2023, and lakhs will be unable to find work. Just last week, news came of hundreds of engineers applying for a government peon job. Infosys and Wipro have said they will not be recruiting from colleges this year. A vast majority of Indians, especially educated youth, are suffering due to the Modi-made economic crisis," he claimed.

"Mr. Modi's enduring legacy as Prime Minister is record unemployment. So the government will go to any lengths — manipulation, distortion and distraction — to hide the problem. But the youth of India know the truth. It’s time for the Prime Minister to retire," Ramesh said.

The Congress has been attacking the government over its handling of the economy and raising concerns over "increasing" unemployment and price rise.