Gwalior: During the Madhya Pradesh leg of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Sunday that the nation is grappling with a higher number of unemployed youths compared to Bangladesh and Bhutan.
The Congress MP said that the country has more unemployed youths than Bangladesh and Bhutan because Prime Minister Narendra Modi has finished small businesses.
"Today, there has been maximum unemployment in the country in the last 40 years. India has double the unemployment as compared to Pakistan. We have more unemployed youth than Bangladesh and Bhutan because Narendra Modi has finished small businesses by demonetization and implementing GST," Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a gathering in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior.
The World Bank report points out that in 2022, the youth unemployment rate in India was at 23.22 per cent, which was higher than its neighbours Pakistan (11.3 per cent) and Bangladesh (12.9 per cent).
Further, the Congress leader said that in terms of social injustice, the number of backward people in the country is 50 per cent, Tribal at eight per cent, and Dalit at 15 per cent. All these together amount to 73 per cent.
"Not a single person among these 73 per cent will be found in big companies. Then Modi Ji says that I am working for the poor," he said.
Rahul Gandhi further said how one can object to caste census without knowing about the population and wealth of Dalits, Tribals and backward classes.
"Why would anyone object to this? Narendra Modi ji says that there is no caste in the country. There are only two, poor and rich. If so then how did you become OBC?" he asked.
"Narendra Modi ji is afraid because he does not want this 73 per cent to know the truth of the country," Rahul Gandhi added.
Earlier, highlighting the reason behind such high levels of unemployment in the country, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday blamed the Narendra Modi government's economic policies like demonetization and the Goods and Services Tax, which he claimed, was a huge blow to the MSME sector, which employs the most youths in the country.
As the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra handed over the national flag to his Madhya Pradesh counterpart, Jitendra Patwari.
—ANI