Jammu, Feb 19 (KNO): Slamming Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for failing to provide employment to youth, Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi saved the lives of the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, but the Omar Abdullah‑led government is taking away their jobs.
Speaking during the grants of departments under the CM’s charge, the LoP, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said the Omar Abdullah‑led government is snatching jobs from the youth whose safety was ensured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
“I want to say here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah ensured the safety of lives in Jammu & Kashmir, especially in Kashmir. They ensured their safety and protection. At least you should have provided them employment. But you snatching their jobs. You should give jobs to the youth whose safety was ensured by Narendra Modi,” he said.
The LoP castigated the government over outsourcing of government jobs.
“Where have the one lakh jobs gone? Instead, you sold 24000 jobs through outsourcing. Today, educated youth are waiting for job advertisements and waiting to sit in examinations, but these jobs are being filled through the backdoor,” he said, adding that there is no recruitment mechanism for filling these jobs.
Sharma came down heavily on the government for failing to fulfil its electoral promises regarding employment for youth.
“I want to remind the CM about his promise. The CM had made a big promise about addressing unemployment. He had promised one lakh jobs. It is ironic that this government created only 653 jobs in the past one‑and‑a‑half years. Going by this speed, it means you will not create more than 2,000 jobs in five years,” he said.
Sharma, who represents the Padder‑Nagseni segment, also slammed the CM over his recent statement on daily‑wagers, saying it reeks of sheer arrogance.
“I have never seen such arrogance in any person. The CM is threatening daily‑wagers, telling them that if they protest, he will ruin their future. What is their future? These persons are 55, 58 years old. Their future is their children. Do you want to ruin their future?” he asked. He said the issue of encroachment should not be viewed through the prism of region and religion.
“There was a hue and cry over the past few months in Jammu over demolitions but the figures collected by me reveal that 1425 structures were demolished in J&K, and out of them 1014 took place in Kashmir,” he said—(KNO)