Chandigarh: Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda on Wednesday claimed a Lok Sabha reply to his question exposed the Centre’s employment claims, saying govt data showed little change in the share of jobs in manufacturing and services over the past eight years.Citing the reply by Union minister of state for commerce and industry Jitin Prasada, Hooda said manufacturing accounted for 12.1% of the total workforce in both 2017-18 and 2025, after falling to 10.9% in 2020-21. The services sector’s share rose marginally from 31.1% in 2017-18 to 31.8% in 2025, he said.Hooda said the figures showed that slogans such as “Make in India”, “Startup India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” had not translated into adequate employment. “The BJP government’s flawed policies have created an army of unemployed people in the country,” he said.He alleged the govt had not directly answered his question on whether job creation was adequate and instead listed schemes without specifying the employment generated through them.Referring to the BJP’s 2014 promise of creating 2 crore jobs annually, Hooda said 12 years would amount to 24 crore jobs. “The government must explain where those jobs are,” he said.Hooda also pointed to nearly 10 lakh vacancies in central govt departments and vacancies in state governments. He criticised the Agnipath scheme for replacing regular Army recruitment, saying it had reduced a secure employment avenue for youth.“Young recruits under the Agniveer scheme do not know whether they are considered employed or unemployed,” he said.Hooda accused the BJP govt of pursuing a model of “jobless growth” and said official data showed employment was not keeping pace with claims of economic development.
