BJP MLAs raise anti-government slogans in Himachal Pradesh Assembly campus

Dharamshala (HP), Dec 22 (PTI) Displaying degrees, BJP MLAs led by Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur raised anti-government slogans in the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly campus at Tapovan in Dharamshala on Friday before the session started.

They alleged the Congress government is cheating 10 lakh unemployed youths of the state.

On the fourth day of the Winter Session, the BJP legislators said that giving jobs to five lakh youths was one of the main guarantees of the Congress made on the eve of the last Assembly polls, and tore and burnt degrees (not original) as a symbolic protest.

The situation has become so bad that today, the frustrated unemployed youths are thinking of burning their degrees and we have given a symbolic expression to their pain, said Thakur.

“The Congress had promised to give five lakhs jobs to unemployed youths in five years and had said that one lakh jobs would be sanctioned in the first Cabinet after formation of the government, but no youth has been given a government job even after one year,” he added.

Results of lakhs of job aspirants who have given various examinations have been delayed and the situation is such that the youth is feeling cheated, running from pillar to post with degrees.

Rather than providing jobs, the state government terminated the services of about 10,000 outsourced employees, including 2,000 in the health sector who rendered their service during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Taking a dig at the Congress, he said that the Sukhu government has given jobs to its “favourites”, who have been accommodated on the posts of advisors, officers on special duty (OSDs) and chief parliamentary secretaries (CPS) while the youth is still waiting for jobs, he added.

The BJP legislators are protesting since day one of the session. They turned into “milkmen” and protested holding empty utensils on Thursday demanding that the state government should buy milk for Rs 80-100 per litre as promised to the farmers.

Earlier, protesting against the alleged non-fulfilment of poll promises of buying cow dung for Rs 2 per kg from farmers, the BJP leaders had on Wednesday said that the Congress “misled and cheated” the people by making false promises, but the BJP would not let the Congress forget its guarantees.

On Tuesday also, the BJP MLAs had protested by wearing white aprons with “unfulfilled” Congress guarantees printed on it and raised anti-government slogans.