Opposition stages walkout from Assembly over unemployment

Opposition BJP accused Congress of closing employment avenues compelling the youth to run from one door to another for jobs

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday, during the fourth day of winter session, staged a walkout from the assembly over the issue of unemployment.

HT Image

Opposition BJP accused Congress of closing employment avenues compelling the youth to run from one door to another for jobs.

Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur raised the issue of unemployment in the state as soon as the House assembled for the day and demanded a discussion on the adjournment motion moved by the BJP MLAs under Rule 67. He said the state government has completely banned employment in the government sector. He added that during the assembly elections, Congress had promised to create one lakh jobs in the first cabinet meeting after assuming office. But on the contrary, the government fired more than 10,000 Corona warriors and did not even pay their eight to nine months’ salary, he added.

Jairam also objected to the statement of Parliamentary affairs minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, in which he said in the House that the opposition was dramatising the issue of unemployment. Jairam asked the government whether raising the issue of public interest, especially unemployment is comedy.

Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said that he was ready to allow a discussion on the adjournment motion on Saturday and even allow discussion under Rule 130. Efforts to calm the uproar in the Assembly were successful for some time, but after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan made sarcastic remarks about the opposition, the uproar started again.

Sukhu tried to answer the issues raised by Jairam, but the Opposition opposed it saying that the CM should present his point of view in response to the discussion. Because the CM kept presenting his side, the entire opposition stood in their seats began raising slogans and later walked out of the House.

After the opposition’s walkout, the CM said in all the recruitments done during the BJP rule, either the papers were leaked or the cases were in the court. He said that the subordinate services selection commission had become a den of corruption and papers were being sold for lakhs of rupees.

Sukhu said that during the five-year rule of the BJP in the state, only 20, 000 people were given employment in the government sector. On the contrary, during the one-year tenure of the present Congress government, 6,500 recruitments of various categories are taking place in the education department, while 974 are for patwari, 244 for van mitra, 1,400 for staff nurse, 300 for conductor, 344 for driver and 1,248 for police constable. Sukhu also accused the opposition of trying to suppress his voice and said that the opposition’s walkout represented their frustration.

Chauhan said the government has made 20, 000 recruitments under the leadership of the CM. On the contrary, the BJP wants the tradition of selling jobs in the state to continue. He also termed the BJP’s uproar as ‘drama’ and said that the Sukhu government has closed the Hamirpur-based subordinate services selection commission, which had become a den of corruption, and in its place, the state staff selection commission has been established.