SHILLONG, FEB 21: Congress leader and former union minister Sachin Pilot on Tuesday said that the BJP today stands exposed as they failed to deliver despite claiming of running a double-engine government in Meghalaya.
Addressing media persons, Pilot said, “BJP today stands exposed. They were in power in Delhi and in alliance in Meghalaya in what they refer to as a double engine government but have failed to deliver.”
Stating that price rise and unemployment continue to be major issues in the state and the country, he questioned “What stopped the BJP and MDA government from addressing these issues? What stopped them from establishing more industries factories, manufacturing hubs and creating jobs in the state of Meghalaya?”
He alleged that the BJP and NPP are only interested in staying in power through the politics of maneuvering and said, “But I am confident that the people of Meghalaya can see through this and they are aware and politically conscious to use their wisdom on February 27.”
He claimed that “going by our track record both in states and the center Congress governments have always delivered the promises we make. Congress has a long history of commitment and performance. We are committed to fulfilling the promises in our manifesto.”
He said the Congress has fielded young and fresh candidates which include women. “This fresh team under the leadership of Vincent Pala will bring good governance to the state. The Congress gives opportunities to young people as seen from the 47 young candidates who are contesting from the congress party.”
On the unemployment crisis faced by the youth, the former union minister said that the NPP led MDA government and their alliance partner BJP have a lot to answer to the people of Meghalaya on the high rates of unemployment faced by the youth of Meghalaya.
“Both the NPP and BJP manifesto for 2023 have promised jobs for the youth but what were they both doing during the last five years? In their 2018 manifesto NPP promised employment generation programs for the youth and today we are seeing some of the highest rates of unemployment in the state. So what has the government done in the past five years?”
He said the high rate of multidimensional poverty reveals that the people of Meghalaya have remained poor because of a lack of employment which leads to a lack of purchasing power and therefore poverty.
According to him, people of Meghalaya must remember that BJP and NPP make false promises if they could not generate employment in the last five years as promised in their old manifesto, they will never be able to fulfill the promises made in the new manifesto.
He said Congress has always been focused on empowering the youth of the country and the state of Meghalaya adding having fulfilled its previous commitment to bring reputed educational and medical institutes like the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), the party will now work towards setting up state level institutes of repute.
He said that education remains a serious concern in Meghalaya, Pilot said that the Gross Enrolment Ratio in 2019-20 for Meghalaya remains lower than the other North-Eastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. While most are enrolled in primary school there is a steep decline in the gross enrolment ratio as they move to senior secondary school (XI and XII). It is important to ensure that our children get a good education and are well equipped to face the world as adults.
“We will establish a dedicated State University with a special focus on job-oriented and market-ready courses such as IOT (Internet of Things), BlockChain Technology, IT and ITES. The Congress government will encourage high-quality private educationists and non-profit trusts to start professional, technical, and vocational courses in the state for the benefit of our student community and reclaim the old glory of Shillong as an educational hub of the North East,” he said.
By Our Reporter
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