Jammu: Former minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla Sunday claimed that after the formation of the BJP Govt, the unemployed Jammu youth continue to bear the brunt of the most discriminatory agenda of their rule. While addressing gathering of youth in Gandhi Nagar constituency, Bhalla alleged that BJP leadership betrayed the educated unemployed youth from Jammu region. He said that BJP has always exploited the sentiments of youth by making false promises every time particularly during elections but practically they did nothing. Its real face stood exposed during past five years. Bhalla strongly criticized the employment policy and showed deep concern over the employment policy adopted by the BJP Government which is totally against the interest of educated unemployed youth especially from Jammu.”This policy leads harassment and ultimately exploitation of educated youth and serves no propose. As the unemployed youth are already suffering a lot due to disturbance in J&K for more than two decades, this is a mockery with the youth to engage them temporarily for seven years both in Gazetted and Non-Gazetted cadre, ” he added. Congress leader said the youth are feeling cheated as promises made to them were either broken or unapologetically abandoned. “The same promises were then bartered without any inhibitions for personal and familial political empowerment of a few people while our hardworking, honest and sincere young men and women were let down and left to the mercy of uncertainty and turmoil,” he said.Bhalla said it is very unfortunate that the regularization of daily wagers/causal labours working in various departments is still pending despite a lot of hue and cry of employees associations and political parties. He supported demands of teachers engaged on contractual basis, lecturers and daily wagers working in different departments.
Addressing youth, Bhalla said that youth of J&K had been left in lurch by a nepotistic and anti-youth BJP government. Former Minister urged upon the Lt Governor to fill the 50,000 posts in the Jammu and Kashmir announced by Governor Satya Pal Malik so that the unemployment crisis faced by the youth would be resolved.He said that youth is affected by the rising unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir. He accused the previous regime of BJP for its failure to provide jobs to the educated youth. He alleged that the previous BJP government’ completely ignored uneducated youth in J&K. He said that Congress is guarantee to peace, communal harmony and brotherhood where all sections of the society find solace under its shelter. Bhalla said that the youth who terms to be the ‘Nation builder’ are presently on roads due to the hollow policies of the BJP led Government at the Centre. Bhalla promised to empower the youth so as to take J&K on the path of growth and development. Hard-working, meritorious and qualified youth of J&K pushed against the wall because of open political patronage to nepotism and an unprecedented chaos in recruitment, competitive examinations and at service commissions under BJP Rule in J&K, Bhalla said.
Bhalla said J&K has highly qualified and talented youth who have given their sweat and blood to be equipped with great academic credentials, but this government seems hell-bent to alienate them after robbing them of their merit and rights. Bhalla said the “deteriorating” law and order situation and the “instability” in J&K in the past five years had a direct bearing on the future of the youth. It is the youth that suffers the most due to the government’s inability to preserve and nurture peace and stability. It affects their studies, robs them of employment opportunities and creates a sense of hopelessness that is dangerous considering the circumstances in J&K. The biggest injustices with the youth are being perpetuated while the government has precious little to offer apart from rhetoric and photo opportunities, he said. Bhalla said rising unemployment in J&K was a matter of grave concern and was a telling indictment of the failed policies of the present government. Our unemployment numbers are rising and could well have crossed a million unemployed skilled and unskilled young men if an objective analysis is undertaken. With the complete collapse of the tourism sector and zero headway in encouraging a private sector growth, diminishing jobs in the public sector have created an alarming situation.
Especially, how even those limited jobs in the public sector seem to be reserved for the kith and kin of the ruling alliance leaders, he said. He asked the party’s youth wing to reach out to the youth and empower them politically to become opinion-makers and stake holders in finding solutions to these problems. Be it the aim of curbing nepotism, of fighting corruption, of holding the government accountable or of ushering J&K into a corrective era of growth, peace and progress, our youth hold the key. They have the answers to the problems that plague our J&K and their voice should be amplified and represented at every policy level, Bhalla said.There are lacs of educated young women and men in Jammu and Kashmir who are bearing the brunt of the lack of employment and struggle to find jobs due to the lack of a job policy — thus pushing them and their families’ backs to the wall. In Jammu and Kashmir, already facing turmoil over the decades, unemployment has become a serious concern and the percentage of unemployed youth is increasing with the poor absorption rate. Due to unemployment, marriages are not held at a proper time. It also causes depression and pushes youths towards drug addiction. It affects families and society as well. One of the causes behind the rising trend of drug addiction in J&K is unemployment. When there are no jobs, it impacts society negatively,” he said.
Bhalla said the students in college and universities are not getting skilled education saying that the absorption rate is poor as compared to the number of students being awarded degrees in different disciplines across institutes in Jammu and Kashmir. He added that there is a mismatch between the degrees of students and jobs, and after completing their education, youths are finding themselves unsuitable for jobs.”There are a number of postgraduates and most of them are desperate to get jobs. And those who land jobs, work for low salaries and are exploited in the private sector even in the metropolitan cities,” said Bhalla, going on to ask, “Why are we producing postgraduates in universities when there is no policy? There should be a policy for unemployed youths.” Bhalla said governments over the years have not done anything for unemployed youths and their careers, because the planning is faulty. We have to look at the supply side. We are not considering this issue. It is high time to have an employment policy that has to be crafted in such a way that it keeps in mind the people who are graduating from universities,” he said. As the lack of jobs has hit hundreds hard, there is also large chunk of mass communication students who are jobless despite having secured their postgraduate degrees. This is being viewed as an unnatural measure being taken by these agencies as the job seeker is already bearing the brunt of unemployment and uncertainty and then has to pay such huge sums only to appear in an interview. It is high time that such a policy is revoked so that a sigh of relief is provided to the already perturbed unemployed youth of the state,” Bhalla said.
Former Minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla strongly condemned Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and Govt under BJP for consistent curtailment in yatra for the last five years. He urged Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to review the decision so as not to hurt the sentiments of devotees of Baba Amarnath. Bhalla said that it is indeed unfortunate that the religious sentiments of Shiv devotees are hurt by taking a decision against the religious rituals aimed at bringing down the yatra by fifteen days. He said it is not for the first time that unilateral decisions are being taken to create hurdles in the smooth conduct of yatra. The Board had been constituted with a sole motive to take decisions aimed at smooth conduct of yatra but SASB has crossed its limits and indulged in making changes in the commencement dates which have invited wide spread resentment and the coming days may see more protests and demonstrations if the Board do not withdraw its anti-Shiv devotee decision. We hope better sense will prevail and Lt Governor will restore the original time table of the yatra. Weather cannot be an excuse for curtailing the yarta duration. Bhalla reiterated that the government extend the duration of the yatra to two months starting from Jayeshth Purnima, instead of the stipulated 42 days as fixed by SASB.He said that pilgrimage was never stopped even during the height of terrorism in the state but under BJP rule it was done last year citing a security threat based on the intelligence inputs and what happened afterward is known to all which makes it very difficult for everyone to trust BJP.