Hooghly, 21 February (H.S.): The Yuva Sathi cash assistance scheme launched by the West Bengal government for unemployed youth is being hailed as a major initiative by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. However, upon implementation, long queues of educated unemployed youth waiting to receive the monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 have sparked a new political debate about the state's employment crisis. These queues include individuals with postgraduate degrees in physics and mathematics, engineering graduates, computer science and chemistry students, and even those who have passed the 10th grade.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has launched a scathing attack on the state government over these images. The BJP alleges that during Mamata Banerjee's long tenure, employment opportunities were not created in the state, but many industries and businesses closed. The party says that this is why educated youth are forced to queue for allowances instead of jobs.
Shashi Singh Jha, General Secretary of the Serampore Organizational District BJP, blamed the MP, MLA, and state government for the plight of youth in the area. She said, Those who used to feel sick seeing people standing in queues during demonetization and the SRI are now making educated unemployed youth stand in queues.
The BJP leader questioned why the state Chief Minister doesn't talk about providing permanent employment to the youth. She alleged that after the All India Trinamool Congress came to power, the condition of factories in the Srirampur Industrial Area continued to deteriorate. Many factories closed, but the local MP and MLA neither took concrete steps to restart them nor created new employment opportunities.
The BJP claimed that as elections approach, educated unemployed youth are being lured with allowances, but the youth are not going to fall for this scam. Party leaders say that youth need respectable and permanent employment, not temporary assistance, and this issue is going to be a decisive political issue in the upcoming elections.
However, at the time of filing of the news, there was no official response from the Trinamool Congress regarding the BJP leader's statement.
---------------
Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey
