Unemployment the biggest issue in polls

UTTARAKHAND ELECTIONS 2007

Amitabh Shukla

Chamba (Uttarakhand), Feb 5, 2007

Driving up the hilly terrain from Rishikesh, youth as well as middle aged men have three main vocations to utilise their time - playing cards, drinking endless cups of tea in the day or simply sitting in the sun.

“Unemployment has emerged as one of the biggest issue of the elections. The Congress promised to create two lakh jobs per year but failed to create even a fraction,” alleged Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, state BJP president and former Chief Minister. He told HT that if voted to power, migration would be stopped and jobs created.

Ramesh Singh Rawat of Chopriyal village has found a disguised unemployment. He has opened a tea shop where the daily sale figure never crosses Rs 100. “We are fed up with the promises. We would go only with the party which actually does something on the job front,” said the 28-year old. Asked which party and Rawat is silent.

A local taxi driver Vimal Kathait, a graduate, recalled that when he went for the exams at Pant Nagar for Group C posts in the university, 1.3 lakh aspirants appeared for the 800 posts on offer. Then when the Home Guard recruitment took place at Haldwani, the line ran up to 3 kms.

Congress Spokesman Surendra Kumar said massive investments have been made in the state. “All of these are meant to provide jobs to the local youth,” he said. Asked about the promise of 2 lakh jobs per year and Kumar has nothing logical to explain.

The Congress leaders harp on the industrial growth of Hardwar and Udham Singh Nagar. “Top companies are here,” said Kumar. But the kind of job generation, the party is looking for never came. Uttarakhand Kranti Dal president B.D. Raturi told newsmen that the issues for which the state was created were never fulfilled. “We asked for jobs, representation to women in power, a hill oriented development etc. Nothing has been done to date,” he said.