Tribune press service

Nagrota Bagwan, July 27

Congress today pledged 1.25 lakh of regular jobs and interest-free loans to youths if elected to power in the state in the upcoming assembly elections. Rajiv Shukla, party official for Himachal, made the announcement during a rally at Gandhi’s compound in Nagrota Bagwan. The rally was organized on the occasion of the birthday of the late Congress leader GS Bali.

Interest free loan of Rs 680 cr for young people

• Establish Rs 680 crore fund to provide interest-free loans to unemployed
• Make a provision of 10 years in prison for leaking paper
• Launch an MGNREGA-type program for urban youth
• Special package for host families, hotels, adventure sports and horticulture
• The old pension plan to be put in place

Congress made six promises to unemployed youths – one lakh permanent jobs in health, education and tourism departments, 25,000 regular jobs in police and forestry departments, a fund of Rs 680 crore to provide interest-free loans to young people for themselves-employment enterprises, a legal provision of at least 10 years imprisonment for those guilty of leaking government recruitment documents, a special package for families hospitality, hotels, adventure sports and horticulture, an employment guarantee scheme similar to MGNREGA for urban youth and the implementation of the old pension scheme. Shukla said the party aims to provide five million jobs in the public and private sectors.

Alka Lamba, national spokesperson for the Congress, said the Directorate of Enforcement (DE) was targeting Sonia Gandhi. “The people of Himachal taught the BJP a lesson in the four by-elections last year. The BJP should tell people why there are more than eight million unemployed youths in the state,” she added.

Alka said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were lying on the issue of free electricity supply in Himachal and Punjab.

Congress Legislative Party Leader Mukesh Agnihotri, Party State Co-Leader Sanjay Dutt, Congress Campaign Committee Chairman Sukhwinder Sukhu, AICC Secretary Sudhir Sharma, former Congress President of youth Krishna Allavaru, former MPs Viplove Thakur and Chander Kumar and all seated and former MPs from Kangra district attended the rally.

AICC Secretary Ragubir Singh Bali, son of GS Bali, organized and managed the program. Singer Anoop Jalota recited bhajans that kept the audience spellbound. Bali said he and Shimla (Rural) MP Vikramaditya Singh would carry the Berozgar Sangharsh Yatra flame across the state. However, Vikramaditya did not attend the rally.