‘Modi Ji has woken up after four years and eight months in office’:  says Surjewala

Reservation in jobs is fine, but where are the jobs, asked Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Monday while welcoming the Government’s announcement of 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections in the upper castes. The party, he said, believed that equal opportunities in both jobs and education be given to the poor, irrespective of caste and community. Therefore despite political differences with the BJP, Congress was ready to support any constitution amendment bill that the Government may introduce in Parliament.

Answering a question, he said that the Modi Government, he hoped, had examined legal and constitutional provisions and it was for the Government to see that constitutional provisions are not breached.

But he questioned the timing of the announcement and asked sarcastically that after four years and eight months in office, Modi Government seemed to have woken up to the needs of the weaker sections.

Demonetisation, he pointed out, had cost the country two crore job losses. “India is on the verge of the worst job crisis perhaps in the century. The unemployment rate is at a high of 7.3%, the highest in the last 23-24 months. According to one estimate by CMIE, in the year 2018 alone there were job losses of one crore ten lakhs,” he added.

The Government has admitted on the floor of the Parliament that 24 lakh Government sector jobs are lying vacant, which “Modi Ji has not filled up in four year and eight months,” he quipped.

“Please offer reservation in jobs; we welcome it, but, when will you create jobs?”

In a statement issued on Monday evening, Surjewala said, “ Without interfering with the constitutional mandate of reservation given to Dalits, to Adivasis and to backward classes in any manner, we have always supported that those who are genuinely poor, but are not covered among these sections may also be given benefit of opportunities and reservation, both in education and employment.”

“We will continue to support every such step that provides opportunities as also employment to the economically poor sections of the society,” he concluded