Priyanka's attack on UP govt: Will only publicity generate employment?

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday hit out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over an employment generation programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking whether only "publicity" will create jobs.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday hit out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over an employment generation programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking whether only "publicity" will create jobs. The prime minister on Friday launched the 'Atma nirbhar Uttar Pradesh Rozgar Abhiyan' seeking to promote local entrepreneurship with industrial associations to provide employment.

"Yesterday, an employment event was started in UP with a lot of fanfare," Priyanka Gandhi said in a Facebook post. "Most of the categories of employment mentioned at the event are facing problems. Self-employed people are in tremendous crisis due to lack of direct financial support from the government. The condition of small and medium-scale industries is so bad that it is estimated that 62 per cent of MSMEs will cut jobs and 78 per cent will cut wages," she said.

In Uttar Pradesh, the condition of chikan industry, woodwork, brass industry, powerloom sector, the carpet industry is also bad, she said. "Recently, incidents of suicide by migrant labourers from outside in Bundelkhand are before us. Tragic incidents of suicide have come to light in Kanpur due to financial constraints and lack of employment," the Congress leader said.

"In such a situation, what is the UP government trying to hide? Will only publicity provide employment?" the Congress general secretary in-charge UP East posed. Asking on which government portal are employment figures available, she urged the Yogi Adityanath dispensation to come out with the truth. In another Facebook post titled 'Truth of 1.25 crore jobs', she said, "There is a turnover of about Rs 2,000 crore of silk business in Benaras. One lakh unskilled labourers have already been laid off in the already suffering silk industry due to the coronavirus crisis." "The salary has been cut from 10 per cent to 50 per cent. Silk traders say that they have no shortage of labourers, but no orders." In the Facebook post, she claimed that export orders were zero for Bhadohi's carpet industry. "Carpets worth Rs 1,200 crore were exported from here and 99 per cent of the goods used to go abroad, the Congress leader said.   Apart from skilled weavers, two lakh unskilled labourers used to work in Bhadohi carpet industry, but now it is being told that only 25,000 to 30,000 were working, she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also highlighted that employment was being lost in Agra's shoe market, Sawan's bangle industry, Kanpur's leather tanneries, Meerut's sports goods industry and Lucknow's Chikan industry. There has been talk of promoting handicrafts and employment under the 'One District One Product' scheme, but the total budget of this scheme was Rs 100 crore, a large part of which was being spent on publicity, she alleged.

"There is a system of providing employment for only 100 days under MGNREGA, in which wages are getting very late. In such a situation, how will the workers' houses be run in the corona-era?" she posed. She also alleged that according to reports, the work of making fake job cards of ineligible people in MNREGA is in full swing and false claims are being made in the name of MNREGA only through publicity and photo sessions.

"Our constant demand has been that the government should give a relief of Rs 10,000 every month to artisans, handicrafts and people working in small and medium industries so that they can survive," Priyanka Gandhi said. Financial assistance should also be given to small entrepreneurs unable to pay their workers due to the "recession", she said, adding that work period under MGNREGA should be increased from 100 days to 200 days, arrangements be made for immediate payment to the workers, and labourers under these schemes should be given work in all government projects related to construction.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)