LS polls: Rahul woos diploma holders, graduates with MNREGA-like scheme

The Congress on Thursday promised the right to employment as well as apprenticeships for youths in a series of assurances made by its leader Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Rajasthan's Banswara.

If the party is voted to power in the Lok Sabha elections, 30 lakh vacant government posts will be filled and a law would be enacted to curb government recruitment examination question paper leaks, he said while addressing a gathering during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

The former Congress chief also promised a legal guarantee on minimum support price for crops to farmers, social security for gig workers and a Rs 5,000-crore fund for startups.

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said, "There are 30 lakh government vacancies in India. Modi ji doesn't get them filled. The BJP doesn't fill them. After coming to power, our first step will be to fill these posts."

On Thursday, the Congress also announced on X its five promises for youths and termed them yuva nyay.

These included filling government vacancies, apprenticeships, freedom from paper leaks, social security for gig workers and the startup fund for youths below 40 years of age.

The Congress will provide the right to employment, Gandhi said in Banswara where the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered Rajasthan from Madhya Pradesh.

Every young diploma and degree holder in the country will have the right to apprenticeships in the private and government sectors, he said.

They will get a one-year apprenticeship during which they will be paid Rs 1 lakh, the Congress leader said.

"We are going to give the right to apprenticeship to all youths of the country. Every graduate and every diploma holder will get this right. Every graduate will be given a one-year apprenticeship in a private company or a government office, and Rs 1 lakh will be given to the person in a year," Gandhi said.

He said this would be like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and benefit crores of youth in the country.

"They will get training and they will get employment in the first year," Gandhi said.

The MGNREGA 2005, assures 100 days of work in rural areas.

Promising a law for social security for gig workers such as drivers, guards and delivery boys, Gandhi said, "In Rajasthan, a law was made for their protection, their pension and their social security. We will implement the same law which was made in Rajasthan in the entire country."

On the issue of paper leaks, he assured that the Congress will standardise the government recruitment exam process and "stop its outsourcing".

Referring to the ongoing protest by farmers to press the Centre to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee on MSP and farm debt waiver, Gandhi said the Congress' manifesto promises "revolutionary" steps for the benefit of farmers.

In its manifesto, the Congress assures legal guarantee on MSP to farmers and also to fulfil the demands of "the farmers who are marching towards Delhi and are being stopped on roads," he said. The party is yet to officially release its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls.

Talking about conducting a caste census in the country, he said it is needed as a large section of the population, including OBCs, tribals, Dalits, minorities and poor general castes, are not getting their share.

There is a need for a caste census in the country and the Congress will get it done after coming to power, Gandhi said.

He said President Droupadi Murmu was not there at the consecration at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and claimed that this was a "direct message" that she cannot enter the temple as she was a tribal.

The Congress leader also asked the gathering whether they saw any poor, farmer and labourer at the temple ceremony. Industrialists and a big line-up of Bollywood stars were present, he said.

"Five percent have the work to control every institution of the country" while "90 percent of people work as labourers", Gandhi said.

He said, "This is the biggest question...". The caste census has to be done for the country's development, the Congress leader said.

Gandhi alleged that the Centre has closed all doors for the youth. The youth aspires to get into the army, but the Centre brought the Agniveer scheme, he said.

Gandhi also alleged that the government has privatised public sector units and shut down schools and hospitals.

The Congress stands with tribals and it had brought the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act for them, he said and added that "we will bring many laws in the future for the benefit of tribals".

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also spoke about the party's manifesto and its promises.

"As soon as the Congress government is formed in 2024, a new 'Rozgar Revolution' will begin by providing employment guarantee to the youth of the country," he said on X.

Addressing the gathering, Kharge said that whenever the Congress has come to power, it has always worked for taking care of the poor.

"The Constitution of the country was made under the leadership of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and today all of you are getting the facilities from that Constitution itself. It is due to the blessings of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru," the Congress chief said.

He said that Congress proudly tells people about the work its leaders have done for the country. "But BJP people never talk about what the Modi government has done for the country. BJP people only commit atrocities on tribals and Dalits. Was Modi ji put in power for this?" Kharge said.

In a post on X, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, "Day 54 of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra comes to an end with today's flag exchange ceremony at Jhalod in Dahod district of Gujarat. With this, the yatra enters Gujarat, the 14th state that we touch along the route."

"The highlight of today's yatra was the declaration of the five 'yuva nyay' guarantees by Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi," he said.