New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused the Centre of closing employment opportunities for young Indians and failing to stop recruitment
examination paper leaks. Addressing the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event at KP Ground in Prayagraj, Gandhi said no one was bigger than the country’s youth.
“You are power and pride of India and when I say this, I talk about every Indian citizen,” Gandhi said.
He said families spend large amounts on their children’s education, but certificates often fail to help them secure jobs. Gandhi also alleged that examination papers get leaked and wealthy students purchase them.
Data handed to companies
Gandhi accused the government of allowing major companies to use young people’s data while offering them limited employment opportunities.
“Let me give you the figures: out of every 1000 young people, only 12 land a permanent job. As for your data, it is taken away from you; it is handed over to major corporations—Jio, Adani, Facebook, and Google—and you are ensnared. You are told to watch as many reels as you like, send as many WhatsApp messages as you wish, and browse or create content on Instagram. This is the addiction of the 21st century and then you are told to work for Blinkit or Uber, or to do manual labor. you can indulge in this 21st-century addiction, but you cannot get a job; you cannot find employment in this country.”
Youth hold potential
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said India’s 40 crore young people and the data they generate could drive the country’s future economy.
“There are 40 crore energetic young people like you in this country; this is the nation’s strength. People talk about China, America, and Russia, but all of them fail in comparison to the youth of India and their potential in the 21st century. In the 21st century, a country’s progress relies on two things—the youth potential that you possess and the data that you generate. India has the youth, and it also possesses the largest volume of data in the world. Every Indian consumes one gigabyte of data daily; future progress will be driven by this data and your potential. Youth plus data equals the 21st-century economy…” he said.
Students recount protest
Several students from Patna told Gandhi about the alleged police lathi-charge during CJP protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Gandhi asked them to seek change through love instead of hatred and violence.
Posters at the venue carried messages demanding jobs. Gandhi later visited Anand Bhawan-Swaraj Bhawan and met party workers. Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said police had granted permission for the programme subject to certain conditions.
