Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition, said the vote-on-account tabled by the Mamata Banerjee government on Thursday had put the final nail in the coffin of the hopes of 2.15 crore unemployed youths in Bengal by announcing a monthly dole of ₹1,500.
He promised a process to fill over 10 lakh vacant posts in the state government to start within six months if the BJP came to power this year.
“Today, in the vote-on-account, finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, following the instructions of Mamata Banerjee, put the final nail in the coffin of the dreams of 2.15 crore youths, clearly indicating that they should not expect jobs from the government,” said Adhikari outside the Bengal Assembly.
He said that the government had earlier introduced a scheme called Yuvashree, which provided an allowance of ₹1,500 to the unemployed, but it was stopped. By reintroducing the same scheme under a new name, Yuva Sathi, the government had reinforced the message that it would not give any permanent jobs, he alleged. He also said the contractual workers in different sectors, including artisans, were left unaddressed.
“On behalf of the BJP, we assure you that we will start the recruitment process for all 10 lakh vacant posts in the state government within six months of coming to power. We have done so in Haryana, where recruitment was carried out for 3.5 lakh vacant government posts. We will come up with detailed plans in our election manifesto, which will be launched in the presence of our national leaders,” said Adhikari, also the Nandigram MLA, who addressed reporters with economist and BJP MLA from Balurghat, Ashok Lahiri, and urged youths to vote for change.
Lahiri heads the BJP’s manifesto committee. He will counter the Mamata Banerjee government’s vote-on-account on the floor of the Assembly on Friday.
A source in the BJP said the party’s manifesto committee would examine Mamata’s vote-on-account in detail and draw up its manifesto based on its shortcomings to woo Bengal voters.
Adhikari also claimed that the vote-on-account was nothing but a hoax and a mockery of the youths and the people of Bengal as it did not outline future plans for industry or employment.
He said that the hike of ₹500 announced under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme was nothing but a poll tool to woo women voters.
“Though the government had assured that funds for youths and other sections would be provided from August, which is beyond the period of the vote-on-account, Mamata Banerjee, following instructions from I-PAC, announced the increased Lakshmir Bhandar sum from February. This clearly shows that the government would allow incidents like Abhaya (the RG Kar rape-murder) and Tamanna (the murder of a minor girl in Nadia) to happen and then offer small amounts in the dishonest hope of buying votes,” he added.
Adhikari said that in the poll manifesto, the BJP would announce at least ₹3,000 for all women receiving Lakshmir Bhandar and give it from June if the BJP forms the government.
“If we come to power, in the first cabinet meeting in May, we will take a decision to provide ₹3,000 to these women from June. The amount may be increased after consideration by the manifesto committee,” he said, asking why Trinamool announced ₹5,000 for women before the Goa polls while providing far lower amounts in Bengal.
CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty said Mamata announced welfare scheme hikes from August without knowing if her government would return to power. “Mamata Banerjee herself does not know if she can fulfil these commitments. This was not a budget but a bill filled with false assurances,” said Chakraborty.