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| BJP again hoodwinking people of Jammu province | | | RUSTAM
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Apr 22: If the approach of the BJP towards Article 370, national integration and delimitation has been contradictory and misleading, its approach towards the crucial unemployment issue facing the Jammu youth has been no less contradictory and dubious. Even a superficial look at the BJP resolution on youth/employment policy would be enough to conclude that the BJP has no interest in the Jammu youth, which is being grossly ignored by the recruitment agencies, including the Public Service Commission and Service Selection Board, and that it, like the Kashmir-centric parties, is more concerned with the so-called unemployment problem in Kashmir. It believes only lip service and the people of Jammu province know it full well.
That the BJP resolution is no more than a blend of contradictions and that it is an attempt aimed at hoodwinking and misleading the Jammu youth can be seen from the fact that, on the one hand, it tends to create an impression that the BJP is not satisfied with the official employment policy because it has accentuated unemployment problem in the Jammu province and, on the other hand, it has emphasized the need of absorbing Kashmiri youth.
The fact of the matter is that the BJP resolution on youth/employment policy is vague and that the BJP has no solution to offer to surmount the unemployment problem in Jammu province. The resolution had to be vague because those running the party affairs and drafting party resolutions are not aware of the nature of problem facing the unemployed Jammu youth. Had those who prepared the resolution after studying and examining the official statistics concerning the unemployment problem in the state, they would not have equated the nature of unemployment problem in Jammu with that of Kashmir. They would have focused their attention only on the unemployment problem in Jammu province.
It is the educated youth of Jammu province that has suffered enormously on account of the faulty or the Valley-centric employment policy. It would not be out of place to mention here that the rate of unemployment in Jammu province is as high as 69 per cent. On the contrary, the rate of unemployment in Kashmir is less than 30 per cent. These are official figures and these were placed on the floor of the assembly some three years ago.
It is also important to note that while the number of employees working in the government and semi-government offices, located in Kashmir province, is more than three lakh, the number of employees working in the Jammu-based government and semi-government establishments is not more than one lakh. Equally important to note is the fact that while the Jammu youth is more or less conspicuous by their absence in the Kashmir-based government and semi-government offices, a number of persons from Kashmir are holding hundreds and hundreds of positions in the government and semi-government establishments, located in Jammu province.
Besides, the share of Jammu in the Civil Secretariat is negligible as compared to Kashmir. In fact, the Civil Secretariat has become the sole preserve of the people of Kashmir. According to the government report of 2007, the number of employees in the Civil Secretariat was 1,715. The share of Jammu in the non-gazetted and 4th class posts was 26.23 per cent and 29.48 per cent, respectively. Leave alone the negligible share of Jammu in the gazetted posts. In contrast, the share of Kashmir in the non-gezetted and 4th class posts was 73.76 per cent and 70.52 per cent, respectively. In other words, the share of Kashmir was three times more that of Jammu. As for Ladakh, its share was just 12 (0.68 per cent).
The statistics available with the employment exchanges further suggest that the youth of Jammu has not been treated fairly by the recruitment agencies. According to these statistics, the number of registered unemployed youth in Kashmir till September 2006 was 35,329. In contrast, the number of registered unemployed youth was as high as 63,613. It can be said with some amount of confidence that the BJP, which has 11 MLAs, is not aware of these official statistics. That's the reason the BJP has equated the magnitude of the unemployment problem in Jammu province with that of Kashmir province.
All this serves to indicate that the BJP has nothing in its kitty for the people of Jammu province. The BJP cannot go on like this. It should come out with a clear-cut agenda and work for its implementation. If it still believes that it can mislead the people of Jammu province, then it is living a fool's paradise. It cannot befool the people of Jammu province any longer. (Concluded)
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