Cong slams Modi govt over ‘loss of 32 million’ casual labourers’ jobs

new delhi — The Congress on Thursday alleged that 32 million casual labourers lost their employment under the Modi government and said the people of India will rise up and defeat the BJP for this “treachery”.

The Congress’ attack on the government came after an English daily cited a National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report to claim that an estimated 32 million casual labourers lost their jobs in rural India between 201112 and 2017-18.

Of these, almost 30 million were those working on farms, the daily said.

“BJP robs India’s Jobs! 3.2 Cr casual labourers lost their employment under Modi government. 3 Cr are farm Labourers!” Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a tweet, tagging the media report.

“Also, 4.7 crore (47 million) youth became jobless! This is stark reality that PM Modi is hiding from India. People of India will rise up and defeat the BJP for this treachery,” he said.

On Wednesday, in a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of jobs, Congress president Rahul Gandhi alleged that his policies destroyed one crore jobs last year and said “India’s PM is a joke”.

Gandhi’s criticism of Modi came over a media report which claimed that the actual size of India’s male workforce, or men who are working, has shrunk for the first time since 1993-94.

“I thought India was producing 450 jobs a day. Turns out Modi’s policies destroyed 1 crore jobs in 2018. That’s 27,000 jobs lost every single day of 2018. India’s PM is a joke,” he has tweeted.

Addressing a rally in Manipur earlier in the day, Gandhi had said: “In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi destroyed one crore jobs in the country. This is the scale of his incompetence. It is absurd and ridiculous that the PM promises giving two crore jobs.” —