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    Bihar elections: Tejashwi Yadav's promise of 10 lakh jobs draws crowds, NDA looks to counter

    Synopsis

    Yadav has been highlighting his promise to ensure at his first cabinet meeting (if the opposition alliance comes to power) that 10 lakh jobs are created in Bihar. This point, the RJD claims, is resonating on the ground and pulling in big crowds at his rallies.

    Bihar Polls
    JDU has started its attacks on the RJD calling this promise impractical.
    New Delhi: The promise of 10 lakh jobs by RJD’s CM candidate Tejashwi Yadav is emerging as a major point in the opposition’s campaign with the JDU and BJP feeling the need to counter the same. The latter have termed it an impractical proposition and questioned how the budget for the same will be provisioned.

    Yadav has been highlighting his promise to ensure at his first cabinet meeting (if the opposition alliance comes to power) that 10 lakh jobs are created in Bihar. This point, the RJD claims, is resonating on the ground and pulling in big crowds at his rallies.

    RJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha pointed out that 4.5 lakh vacancies already exist in the state government departments and the rest of the jobs are projected to be created by the new alliance of government of RJD, Congress and the Left Parties. Yadav has also been citing the high 46% unemployment rate in the state to explain the need for jobs.

    However, the JDU has started its attacks on the RJD calling this promise impractical. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has started questioning in his rallies how salaries will be paid for 10 lakh new jobs and from where such jobs will be created.

    "There will be a game of corruption in the name of giving jobs. Be alert towards such false promises,” Kumar said at a rally in Aurangabad on Monday.

    On Tuesday at a rally, the CM asked whether the money to be paid as salary for 10 lakh jobs “will come from jail (where Lalu Prasad is lodged) or fake currency notes will be given.” He has also rebuked Tejashwi Yadav of having no experience of administration and lack of understanding of the state’s issues. He claimed that his government has given six lakh jobs in the past 15 years

    A senior BJP leader told ET that RJD’s claim of 46% unemployment rate in Bihar is an April figure, during the lockdown. “As per the latest data of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) released on October 16, the unemployment rate in Bihar in September stood at 11.9% while the national unemployment rate stood at 6.7%. Some other states like Rajasthan (15.3%), Haryana (19.7%) and Delhi (12.5%) have higher unemployment rates than Bihar,” the BJP leader said, adding that the issue will be addressed when PM Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar start their joint rallies.

    Yadav is accusing the JDU-BJP of running away from the pressing issue of unemployment in Bihar and said that he has dared to make a poll promise which the JDU-BJP could not achieve in 15 years. The JDU says RJD’s record on this count is poor and only 33,499 jobs were created during the 15 years of the Lalu-Rabri government.


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    ( Originally published on Oct 20, 2020 )
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