Delhi: Where Are Our Promised Jobs, Protesting Youths Ask Modi Govt

New Delhi: Thousands of youth, under the banner of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), held a demonstration at Jantar Mantar near Parliament House on Thursday, against rising unemployment participated in the demonstration against unemployment. The youth, who had come from across the country, were holding placards, asking the Narendra Modi government: "Where are my jobs? Modi government should answer!" The protesters wanted to ask the Modi government at the Centre, which had promised to provide 2 crore jobs every year, why unemployment was rising. It has been eight years since the Modi government came to power, and as per the promise, 16 crore persons should have got jobs by now. “Where are 16 crore persons who got employment? Modi government must answer,” read a placard. The youth, who had reached Delhi from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, were stopped by the police from marching toward Parliament, after which they staged a sit-in at Jantar Mantar. The sit-in later turned into a public meeting, which was addressed by DYFI president and Rajya Sabha MP AA Rahim, treasurer Sanjeev. Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury as well as Students’ Federation of India leaders Mayukh Biswas and VP Sanu also addressed the gathering. The protesting youth demanded the basic right to employment from Prime Minister Modi. Along with this, they also demanded an end to contractualisation, filling up of government posts, proper implementation of the MGNREGA law and unemployment allowance of Rs 5,000/month. Sagar Gautam, who had come from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, said that the state of unemployment in the country was such that the UP government had taken the Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET) for government jobs and three lakh youth had taken the exam from Saharanpur district alone. The situation was such that the students had arrived in trains and buses, stuffed like animals, because the government had not made any arrangements, he said. Similarly, the examination for recruitment in Uttar Pradesh Police was conducted but the paper got leaked. But, our Chief Minister and his supporters kept saying everything is fine, he said, adding that the only jobs left for youth is to sell tea in the morning, pakoras (fritters) in the afternoon and work as watchmen at night.

Speaking with NewsClick, Sukhwinder, who had come from Punjab, said unemployment was at its peak in the state like the rest of the country. “The government has changed there but the situation is the same. On the one hand, jobs are not being created, while on the other, NREAG work has also decreased. Due to unemployment, a large number of youth are going abroad,” he added. Irfan Gul, who had come from Jammu and Kashmir, said that this government was snatching jobs from youth instead of giving them employment. Rikta Krishnaswamy from Delhi said: “We have come here to ask where are our jobs? The Modi government has to answer! We have come to ask the government to give work to every hand. Along with this, we are also demanding employment guarantee for urban youth”. Talking to NewsClick, DYFI president AA Rahim said November 3 was the foundation day of DYFI, which was formed in 1980. “Since its inception, we have been continuously fighting over the questions of the youth, but the situation today is the most frightening. Today youth are dying by suicide due to lack of jobs. The data of National Crime Records Bureau confirms this,”he added. Youth leader Sanjeev Kumar said since 2014, ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government took over, there has been widespread inflation, unemployment and the crisis of agriculture in the country due to faulty policies. Inflation and unemployment are at their peak, he added. “More than one million posts are vacant at the Centre, but Modi's government is not filling these. No economic recovery is taking place, he said, alleging that “there is some conspiracy behind the Central government keeping these posts vacant. The youth need to fight for this. We are ready to fight this battle.”