Calcutta: The Bharatiya Janata Party has withdrawn a campaign to provide ‘job guarantee’ cards to 75 lakh youth in Bengal that contained a promise that they would be provided with work if the party won the 2021 assembly elections.
The campaign was launched on December 13.
Talking to The wire, BJP State Chairman and MP Dilip Ghosh said: “There is a problem with the term ‘jobs’. Many people think they will get a job with this card. What we really wanted to do is a survey to measure the level of unemployment and then design an employment generation policy. With the ‘jobs’ mentioned in the scheme, they think the government will be responsible for providing jobs. But that is not the case. There may be private jobs, some people may start their businesses. “
When launching the program, BJP had said that over the next few months, the ‘job guarantee’ card will be distributed to young people spread over 294 assembly seats. BJP had said that cardholders will receive jobs based on academic merit in the next five years, should BJP come to power in 2021.
Present at the December 13 event, BJP National Vice President Mukul Roy had said: “Prime Minister [Mamata Banerjee] held several global investment summits in the past nine years, but the state has not received any investment to establish industries, while those who have units in the state are forced to change base due to the union raj. “
The BJP has made unemployment a crucial issue for polls in Bengal. Bharatiya State President Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) and Bishnupur MP Saumitra Khan had also said that the Mamata Banerjee government has failed to provide jobs. Instead of providing jobs for people, the prime minister is asking young men and women to sell street food to earn a living. We will provide job opportunities for young people, ”Khan added.
Both Roy and Khan had been in the Trinamool Congress until 2019.
When The wire approached Khan to get a reaction on the reversal of the scheme, Khan said: “We have stopped giving the labor guarantee card. Instead of providing employment, we will work to generate employment ”. Khan disconnected the call when asked a follow-up question.
Meanwhile, Khan shared a video clip of the December 13 press conference on his Facebook page with a caption in Bengali that translates to “We will keep our promise.”
A senior West Bengal government official, requesting anonymity, said The wire, “The campaign completely bypasses the official procedures of the job board. There is no merit in the campaign, and any court of law would have annulled it. “
Reacting to BJP’s U-turn on the job creation campaign, veteran TMC MP Saugata Roy said: “The U-turn shows that BJP is about tricks. Your youth president (BJP) came up with this useless plan. Most of their leaders objected, so they stopped. “
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