No unemployment in country but mere talk about it: BJP MP

In all, 203 men and women who have been selected for various posts of Union and Gujarat governments, were handed over appointment letters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 45 events through video-conferencing.

Citing reported shortage in the agricultural sector to underscore his point, Mokariya said, “When one talks about employment, people generally talk about government jobs. In reality, given the number of malls that have come up over the last 10 years and the number of sweepers and security (guards) they need… new complexes have been built and they need people for cleaning and security purposes… There are lots of work in farming but labourers are not available.”

He added, “Many complain that jobs are not available but if you were to check ground realities, you would find that office staff is in short supply, no labourers are available for agriculture.”

“There is a crisis. There is no unemployment but by propping up government figures, Congress or Opposition and NGOs try to create a picture that people are not finding employment… NGOs should check ground reality. For example, they should check how many malls have opened in Rajkot and how many sweepers and security guards have been employed there.

How many new cinema houses have been opened. Where do all these people come from? They come from the country and Gujarat,” Mokariya said. He added that as there is shortage of labour in Gujarat, people are hired from other states. “We have to bring people from Uttar Pradesh. Tribals are now farming our land, as our farmers are not cultivating their land themselves.”

The MP gave his own example, saying he was hiring labourers for tilling his 300 bigha of agricultural land. “I myself am a farmer owning 300 bigha of land. But neither I nor my relatives are able to do farming and instead we are paying them (labourers). Thus, there is no unemployment but mere talk about it.”

Mokariya, who runs a courier firm that employs around 7,000 people, and is also into real estate business, said the issue was more about finding white-collar jobs.

“A lot of work is being done and if someone wants a job, one finds it. It will be a different matter if one says that he wants to do only table work. Otherwise, there is a need for plumbers, etc. So many new buildings are being built and such people are needed. But we demand white-collar jobs only. If you are a skilled worker, plumber etc, you will get lots of work and wages are also good,” he added.

Two other such events were held in Vadodara and Ahmedabad.
In Vadodara, Union Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan attended the function where 69 youths were handed out appointment letters in various departments or public sector units like postal department, ONGC and banks.

Chauhan said, “More than 71,000 appointment letters have been distributed across the country today… It is a step in the direction of the pledge that the government has taken of issuing 10 lakh government jobs to youth. Of this, we have already handed out 7.5 lakh jobs so far (sic)…”.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Chauhan said the BJP was eyeing to win over 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The event in Ahmedabad was attended by Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Parshottam Rupala. Appointment letters were handed over to 129 candidates in various departments of the Union government, like the Railways, defence and post, among others.