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‘Rozgar Mela’ face of good governance: Modi
The Rozgar Mela recruitment drive has become an “identity of our good governance”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday.
The Rozgar Mela recruitment drive has become an “identity of our good governance”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, as he virtually distributed 71,000 appointment letters to newly-inducted recruits in various government departments and organisations.
“Rozgar Mela has become an identity of our good governance. It serves as an indication of our commitment towards keeping our promises. Regular Rozgar Melas have become a mark of this government. They show that whatever resolution is taken by this government is realised,” he said via virtual conference to the new recruits.
The Rozgar Mela is a recruitment drive to provide employment to one million people by filling up “existing vacancies against sanctioned posts in a mission mode”, according to a release by the Union government in October.
So far, 217,000 appointment letters have been distributed as part of the drive since its launch in October.
Modi said the newly-inducted recruits will be “active participants in the journey of a developed India”.
He asked the recruits to resolve to serve people and said the mantra in the administrative system should be that the citizen is always right, like it is noted in business that the consumer is always right. That is why employment in the government sector is called “government service” and not jobs, he said.
The Prime Minister also said that regular promotions in government jobs were hampered in the earlier times but the Union government has made changes in the recruitment process, making it more streamlined and time-bound.
“There are many youngsters who are the first in their families to have got a government job. They know their capabilities have been respected following a clear and transparent recruitment process. There used to be a time when even regular promotions were restricted for several reasons. There have been changes in the recruitment process of the central government. Now, the recruitment process in the central government is more time bound and streamlined,” he said.
In the coming days, lakhs of more families will get recruitment for government jobs, he said, adding: “Rozgar Mela is being organised in the BJP and NDA-ruled states.”
He said that more opportunities for employment and self-employment were being created in a rapidly growing India that is taking huge strides in the infrastructure and allied sectors.
“India is witnessing change. In a rapidly growing India, opportunities for employment and self-employment are being created continuously. When the country witnesses massive growth, innumerable opportunities of self-employment are generated. India is witnessing this today,” he said.
The Prime Minister also held a series of interactions with the recruits. He asked one Faisal Shaukat Shah from Srinagar, who has been appointed as a junior assistant at NIT, Srinagar, whether he is the first in his family to have secured a government job. Modi asked him about the impact of his recruitment among his friends.
Shah said his friends are feeling inspired to take up a government job.
Modi also interacted with Vahnei Chong from Manipur, who will be working as a nursing officer at AIIMS, Guwahati.
“I am the first appointee in a government job from my family. It gave me an opportunity to return to my hometown and to serve the people of the North East with excellent care and good treatment,” Chong said.
Raju Kumar, a specially-abled person from Bihar who has been appointed as a junior engineer in the Eastern Railways, also interacted with Modi. “I am pleased after listening to you and it is inspiring how you have overcome your disabilities,” Modi told him.
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said alleged 71,000 appointment letters were not sufficient.
“Narendra Modi ji, 30 lakh posts are vacant in government departments. The 71,000 recruitment letters that you are distributing today are only ‘cumin seeds in camel’s mouth’!
The process is on to fill the vacant posts. You had promised to give 2 crore new jobs annually. Tell the youth. Where are the 16 crore new jobs in 8 years?” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
Hitting back, BJP national spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said: “The figure of 30 lakh government job vacancies is incorrect… He should instead answer why were the filling of posts halted under the UPA Government in 2010.”
He added: “The job vacancies in government departments have accumulated since the UPA government’s tenure. The Congress should answer these questions.”
