Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday expressed his concern over the “high suicide rate in Gujarat”, and questioned the “deafening” silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a statement, Mr. Kharge said the data presented in the Gujarat Assembly showed that 25,000 people died by suicide in the past three years, with 500 of them being students.
The Congress chief alleged that the BJP-ruled State and the Centre had failed to fulfil their promises of creating new job opportunities for youths, and the data presents a “grim picture of a populace grappling with despair, hopelessness, and unaddressed grievances”.
‘Double-engine misgovernance’
He urged the Gujarat government to prioritise the well-being and safety of citizens, and take immediate and decisive action to address the issue that has cast a shadow over the State.
“In a State that boasts of progress and prosperity, it is unconscionable that so many citizens have felt compelled to take their own lives. This is another example of the BJP’s double-engine misgovernance that has already inflicted several anyays (injustice) on the country. Its State and Central government have failed to fulfil their promises of releasing and filling job vacancies and creating new job opportunities,” Mr. Kharge said.
“The Prime Minister’s silence on this grave human tragedy in his home State is deafening,” he added.
The Congress chief noted that the maximum number of cases came from cities such as Ahmedabad (3,280), Surat (2,862), and Rajkot (1,287) and termed it a “damning indictment” of the government’s inability to provide adequate support and resources to the vulnerable.
‘Job scene grave’
Separately, the Congress alleged that a mrit kaal [disastrous times] is prevailing in the country for the youth due to rising unemployment, and cited the case of 20 Indians, who had gone to work as supporting staff in the Russian Army and are stranded now.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said “the unemployment situation is so terrible here that India’s youths are forced to seek jobs as soldiers abroad and risk their lives in war-torn Israel and Russia”.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar alleged that Indians were being held “hostage” in Russia and one person from Gujarat doing civilian work there had been killed.
“Indian youth have been held hostage in Russia because there is a mrit kaal going on for the youth in our country. Had the Modi government provided 2 crore jobs every year, the youth would not have had to go abroad,” Mr. Kumar said.
