PM’s 10 Lakh Recruitment Order: After 2 Cr Jobs Promise, How Long Will ‘Jumle-Baazi’ go on, says Cong

New Delhi: First some figures -- the total number of salaried people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic in India is 18.9 million. This was despite a recovery in the overall employment rate which is driven by the informal sector, according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.

Overall, 80% of the workers lost their employment in urban areas and 56% in rural areas, says another study by Centre for Sustainable Employment.

In this backdrop, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest promise on Tuesday – ahead of the 2024 general elections – of creating 10 lakh jobs in 1.5 years has invited the Opposition’s ire, as it has been consistently trying to corner Modi on his 2104 poll promise of creating two crore jobs a year. With millions more getting ready to enter the workforce this year after finishing their graduation and other courses, will 10 lakh jobs be enough, they have asked.

Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the announcement of recruitment of 10 lakh people in the next year and a half, Congress asked till how long will "jumle-baazi" continue.

Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Modi had promised to provide two crore jobs every year and that going by the promise, 16 crore jobs should have been provided in the last eight years.

"The promise was to provide two crore jobs every year and 16 crore jobs were to be given in eight years. Now they are saying they will only provide 10 lakh jobs by 2024. Sixty lakh posts are lying vacant in governments. Thirty lakh posts are lying vacant in the central government. 'Jumle-baazi' (rhetoric) till how long?" Surjewala asked in a tweet in Hindi.

The Congress has been attacking the BJP-led Centre over the rising unemployment and the lack of new jobs in the country.

On Tuesday, Modi asked various government departments and ministries to undertake the recruitment of 10 lakh people on a "mission mode" in the next year and a half, his office said on Tuesday.

Read Also:‘An Unhealthy Recovery’: Job Recovery has Left Out Salaried Jobs, Says CMIE

The direction from Modi came following a review of the status of human resources in all government departments and ministries, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

The decision to fill up 10 lakh posts in the next 18 months means that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hopes to have something solid to counter the Opposition's criticism of its government on the issue of unemployment at the time of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Read Also:About 66% Workers Lost Employment During Lockdown: Study

According to the latest annual report of the Department of Expenditure on Pay and Allowances, the total number of regular central government civilian employees in position (including in the Union territories) as on March 1, 2020 was 31.91 lakh as against the sanctioned strength of 40.78 lakh and approximately 21.75 per cent of the posts were vacant.

The report said almost 92% of the total manpower is covered by five major ministries or departments -- railways, defence (civil), home affairs, posts and revenue.

Of the total strength of 31.33 lakh (excluding the Union territories), the percentage share of the Railways is 40.55, home affairs 30.5, defence (civil) 12.31, posts 5.66, revenue 3.26 and all other ministries and departments 7.72.

The total expenditure on pay and allowances (excluding productivity-linked bonus or ad-hoc bonus, honorarium, encashment of earned leave and travelling allowance) for the regular central government civilian employees, including the employees of the Union territories and missions, was Rs 2,25,744.7 crore in 2019-20 as compared with Rs 2,08,960.17 crore in 2018-19.

According to the report, against the sanctioned strength of 10.16 lakh in central police forces, 9.05 lakh employees were in position as on March 1, 2020.

The CPI(M) also took a dig at Modi’s Tuesday’s announcement saying it was the hollowness of his policies that had led to a four-decade high in unemployment rate.

Having miserably failed in his promise of crores of jobs every year with record high unemployment, Modi now seeks to deflect criticism over his abysmal record by announcing 10 lakh recruitments in "mission mode" in the next year and a half!https://t.co/nP0fBqaUGH

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) June 14, 2022

“Having miserably failed in his promise of crores of jobs every year with record high unemployment, Modi now seeks to deflect criticism over his abysmal record by announcing 10 lakh recruitments in "mission mode" in the next year and a half! the Left party said in a tweet.

BJP leader Varun Gandhi, who has often raised the issue of unemployment and has been seen as critical of the government on various matters, thanked Modi for understanding the "pain and anguish" of unemployed youths.

He, however, said in a tweet that meaningful efforts will have to be made to create new employment opportunities and to fill up over one crore "sanctioned by vacant" posts, as unemployment was the most burning issue in the country.