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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday drew the battle lines between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition, asserting that the country will now decide whether the future of youth will depend on dynastic parties which looted them with "rate cards" for jobs or his government which is working to "safeguard" their prospects.
Modi used a rozgar mela (employment fair) to launch a blistering attack on the Congress and other opposition parties, linking their stint in power with political corruption, nepotism and malpractice in different schemes, including in recruitment process, while crediting his government for ushering in an era of transparent and quicker employment exercise.
He also accused some parties of using language as a weapon to spread conflict and division in the country while his government has used it to create employment and empower people.
The prime minister took no names but made an apparent reference to reports about "rate card" for different government jobs in the Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal and prevalence of "cut money" in the state.
He also took a swipe at Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, noting that a former railway minister is facing a criminal case for getting poor farmers' land in lieu of jobs.
Addressing the newly-recruited government employees after distributing appointment letters to over 70,000 people, he said dynastic parties had betrayed the youth by encouraging corruption and nepotism in the recruitment process.
Recruitment process earlier used to take one to one-and-a-half years, but now it gets over in a few months transparently, he said.
"We have seen how dynastic political parties promoted nepotism and corruption in all systems. When it came to government jobs, these parties encouraged nepotism and corruption. These dynastic parties have betrayed crores of youth," he said without naming any party.
"In 2014, when our government came, transparency came and nepotism is also ending in the recruitment process," he asserted.
The prime minister said India is now a more stable, safer and stronger country than it was a decade ago, asserting that decisiveness has become the identity of the Indian government.
Political corruption, malpractices in schemes, misuse of public funds, used to be the identity of previous governments, he said.
"Today, India is known for its political stability. This means a lot globally. The Indian government is known for its decisiveness...The Indian government is identified with its economic and progressive social reforms," he said.
There are new employment opportunities in both the private and public sectors, he said, adding there are also self-employment opportunities with initiatives like the Mudra Yojana, Start Up India and Stand Up India.
"There has never been such confidence for our economy in the past. On the one hand, there was a slowdown due to the pandemic and on the other hand, the supply chain was affected due to war (Ukraine). Despite all these challenges, India is taking its economy to new heights," he said.
The decisions of our government has made lakhs of opportunities available in the private sector, he said.
Modi said the rozgar mela has become the new identity of the BJP and National Democratic Alliance governments.
Attacking rivals, he said two things are clear before people as there are political parties having rate cards for jobs and seeking cut money in everything on the one hand while this government is safeguarding the future of the youth on the other hand.
Addressing the young audience, he said rate cards destroy their dreams, capabilities and strength while this government lives for their and their families' dreams.
The prime minister said, "We are working to safeguard you and your families' every wish and aspiration. The country will now decide whether the future of the youth will depend on rate cards or safely prosper under the system of safeguard. These parties centred around nepotism snatch away common citizens' opportunities for advancement while we are creating new opportunities for them regularly."
With some political parties, especially those in south India, accusing the BJP of promoting Hindi at the cost of regional languages, Modi hit back at them and accused them of using the issue to cause conflict and division.
"We are making language a medium to give employment to people and empower them. Our government is ensuring that any language is not a barrier for someone in fulfilling their dreams. Our government's emphasis on the use of mother tongue in recruitment process, entrance exams will ensure maximum benefit for the youth," he said.
Having exams in regional languages allows the youth to show their mettle easily, he said.
"This is a very crucial period for those stepping into governmental roles as Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal has started, where the new recruits have before them the goal of making India a developed country in the next 25 years," the prime minister said.
With the rozgar mela on Tuesday, Modi has distributed appointment letters to over 4.3 lakh people.
He had launched the exercise last year to recruit 10 lakh persons and asked ministries and departments to identify and fill up vacancies in a mission mode.