Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi
New Delhi, Apr 11: A fresh political confrontation has erupted between the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the ruling BJP over the issue of unemployment, with the Congress MP questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seriousness on job creation and alleging the abandonment of the Rs 10,000 crore Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme.
Rahul Gandhi, addressing a public rally on Friday, raised three pointed questions to PM Modi on the current employment crisis, accusing the government of neglecting the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) while favouring large corporates. “The government made a show of launching the ELI scheme, and a year later, it has neither been defined nor implemented. This exposes the PM's commitment to solving unemployment,” he claimed.
In a swift and sharp rebuttal, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya took to social media platform X, presenting what he termed as “hard facts” to refute Rahul’s allegations. Calling the Congress leader’s remarks a “calculated strategy to distort reality,” Malviya said Rahul was either poorly briefed or “weaponizing ignorance” to mislead India’s youth.
Malviya clarified that the PM Internship Scheme for FY 2024–25 is already in effect, with over 1.25 lakh applicants having secured internships, and 327 companies offering opportunities across districts. “A total of 3.9 lakh youth applications have been received so far,” he stated.
On Rahul’s claims of crony capitalism and corporate bias under the NDA government, Malviya retaliated with a comparison to the UPA era, highlighting scams, corruption, and policy paralysis that marred the previous regime. “India's youth are watching. They know the difference between a government that delivers and a dynasty that deceives,” he wrote.
Malviya asserted that Congress’s legacy is steeped in “empty slogans and broken promises”, and accused Rahul of projecting his own party’s failures onto the current administration.
The war of words underscores the rising political temperature in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, with employment emerging as a major theme in the opposition’s criticism of the ruling government. While Rahul Gandhi aims to keep pressure on the Centre over unfulfilled promises, the BJP continues to push back with data and counter-narratives highlighting its welfare and employment programmes.
As the debate intensifies, the ELI scheme and other job initiatives are likely to remain in focus, with both sides vying to win the confidence of India's aspiring youth.