New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS): In the run-up to its 'Mehangai Par Halla Bol' rally scheduled at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on September 4, the Congress on Friday targeted the Centre on the issues of unemployment and inflation.

Addressing a press conference here, Congress spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh said, "The rupee has fallen to 79.70 against the US dollar. The unemployment rate in August, as per CMIE, was a whopping 8.28 per cent, the highest in the last one year. Retail inflation continues to be above RBI's tolerance band of 6 per cent, sitting at 6.71 per cent in July."

Vallabh said the BJP government, due to its inept handling of the economy, is pushing the Indian growth story back.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) released the GDP numbers for Q1 FY23 on Wednesday, Vallabh said, adding that the government machinery may push specific data points, but the real picture emerges if the numbers are compared to the pre-Covid levels.

The Congress spokesperson said that the SBI has trimmed its growth forecast for FY23 from 7.5 per cent to 6.8 per cent, while other global banks and rating agencies too have followed the same trend.

"What concrete measures is the government taking to generate employment opportunities for our youth, given that the urban unemployment rate has risen to 9.6 per cent," Vallabh asked.