Rahul Gandhi made a spin on "How's the josh" to use the hashtag #HowsTheJobs
Highlights
- Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at Centre over report on jobs data
- The report says unemployment rate was at 45-year-high in 2017-18
- BJP attacked Mr Gandhi saying he had "myopic understanding of issues"
Rahul Gandhi today used the term "Fuhrer" to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a report that says that the country's unemployment rate was at a 45-year-high in 2017-18. The National Sample Survey Office's (NSSO's) periodic labour force survey (PLFS), which has been accessed by the Business Standard newspaper, says unemployment was at 6.1 per cent in 2017-18, the highest since 1972-73.
The report was not released despite being vetted by the National Statistical Commission in December, allege its two non-independent members who quit on Tuesday.
"NoMo Jobs! The Fuhrer promised us 2 Cr jobs a year. 5 years later, his leaked job creation report card reveals a National Disaster. Unemployment is at its highest in 45 yrs. 6.5 Cr youth are jobless in 2017-18 alone. Time for NoMo2Go," tweeted the Congress president, referencing the nickname for Adolf Hitler and also using the hashtag #HowsTheJobs, a twist on the popular catchphrase "How's The Josh" from the blockbuster film "Uri: The Surgical Strike".
The report, revealed a day before the government's interim Budget or Vote on Account, says in 2011-12, the unemployment rate stood at 2.2 per cent and youth unemployment is at "astronomically high" levels of 13 to 27 per cent.
It said unemployment was higher in urban areas (7.8 per cent) than in the rural areas (5.3 per cent). Also, more people are withdrawing from the workforce as the labour force participation rate is lower than in the previous years.
The NSSO's annual household survey of 2017-18 is the first after the November 2016 demonetisation, when PM Modi declared an overnight ban on high-value notes.
Reacting to Mr Gandhi's comment, the BJP's official handle tweeted: "It's clear that he has inherited Mussolini's shortsightedness and has myopic understanding of issues. EPFO's real data shows sharp increase in jobs, created in just the last 15 months. Only a man who hasn't ever held a proper job & is totally jobless can peddle such."
The Congress seized the report to once again target the government over what it called "two ill-conceived policies" - demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST).