"We Promised Jobs, Rozgaar": Amit Shah Tears Into Mahagathbandhan Manifesto

Using numbers to poke holes in RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's promise of providing a government job to one member of every family in Bihar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the amount that will be required for this is four times the entire budget of the state. 

Speaking exclusively to NDTV's CEO and Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal at the NDTV Bihar Power Play Event on Saturday, the minister said the NDA has promised 1 crore livelihood opportunities in the state and not just jobs, drawing a distinction between the two.

With just five days to go until Bihar votes in the first phase of the Assembly elections, unemployment and promises about alleviating it have dominated the discourse in the state. When Shah was asked about how the NDA's pledge stacks up against that of the Mahagathbandhan, he said very few people are buying the promise made by Yadav because voters in Bihar are smart. 

"Tejashwi has said a member of every family will get a government job. There are 2.8 crore families and let's assume 20 lakh have such jobs. That means 2.6 crore jobs are needed. Let's assume again that B, C and D-grade jobs need to be created; the average salary would be Rs 39,000. This means Rs 12.85 lakh crore would be needed, which is four times the budget of Bihar," the minister pointed out.

The total size of the 2025-26 Bihar budget was Rs 3.17 lakh crore, up Rs 38,000 crore from the previous one. 

Fulfilling the RJD leader and Mahagathbandhan's jobs promise would mean that they would not have any money left for anything else, like power and policing - Shah emphasised, adding that they would still have to find money that would be four times the state budget.

"So, answers on Tejashwi Yadav's promise should be sought from Lalu Yadav and Rahul Gandhi. Where will they find Rs 12.85 lakh crore?" he asked.

On the NDA's promise of 1 crore 'rozgar' in five years, the minister said that while the Mahagathbandhan is talking about jobs, the ruling alliance is speaking of livelihood. 

"Livelihood can mean self-employment, cottage industries, MSMEs. Someone who works in an MSME also earns a livelihood. So, livelihood can be generated in various ways. For example, if someone starts a dairy in a village, 150 families earn a livelihood from it. Let's not confuse people by equating livelihood with jobs," he said.

Generating livelihoods within Bihar will also mean that more people will be incentivised to stay in the state and migration will reduce, Shah said.

"For Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000 a month, young men from Bihar go to Mumbai, Gujarat, Haryana, Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. If a man gets the same amount by doing a small business in his village, he will not leave it. He can then stay with his wife and elderly parents. This is what we are trying to ensure," he explained.