New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) Members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) staged a protest outside the LG Secretariat here on Saturday, demanding that vacant government posts in Delhi be filled and an unemployment allowance for those who fail to get a job.
At the protest held on freedom fighter Bhagat Singh’s birth anniversary, hundreds of DYFI members raised slogans demanding either jobs or an unemployment allowance for youngsters.
After the protest, a DYFI delegation submitted a memorandum of demands addressed to the lieutenant governor and the chief minister to officials at the LG Secretariat.
The protesters chanted slogans, such as “give jobs or an unemployment allowance”, “we will fulfil Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s dreams” and “raise your voice against the BJP government’s anti-youth policies”, and marched towards the LG Secretariat, where police tried to stop them by setting up barricades.
According to a statement issued by the DYFI, addressing the protestors, Suresh, a central committee member of the organisation, its state president Rikta Krishnaswamy and state secretary Aman Saini accused the BJP-led Centre of being anti-youngsters and anti-employment.
They said the government’s policies have resulted in skyrocketing the unemployment rates across the country, including in Delhi.
“Despite lakhs of vacancies nationwide in government departments, no recruitment is taking place. Government departments are continuously being privatised to benefit big capitalists,” the DYFI said.
“This resultant crisis is visible in the nation’s capital, where around 20 lakh educated youth are registered as unemployed within Delhi’s employment exchanges. Many more unemployed individuals have not even registered,” it added.
The DYFI accused the BJP-led Centre of giving the powers of the elected government in Delhi to the LG.
“On the other hand, the (Narendra) Modi government has undermined democratic and federal principles by robbing the elected Delhi government’s powers and handing them over to the Lieutenant Governor through the GNCTD 2021 amendment. Despite having the authority to appoint personnel, the BJP-supported Lieutenant Governor is not carrying out any recruitment, resulting in hospitals lacking doctors, schools lacking teachers, and a shortage of workers for sanitation, water management and other essential services, causing immense public distress,” it said.
“It is ironic that the BJP’s Delhi leaders demand recruitment for government job aspirants and an unemployment allowance for those without work, while all appointment powers rest with the Lieutenant Governor — a representative of the BJP government,” the DYFI added.
It said RTI queries have revealed that in the B R Ambedkar Excellence School in Delhi’s Rohini, there are only three teachers for 500 children.
There is a shortage of 567 doctors in Delhi’s government hospitals and 20,000 positions for teachers and non-teaching staff, more than 2,000 positions for doctors (at hospitals run by the Delhi government and the Centre) and thousands of vacancies for nursing and paramedical staff are yet to be filled, it added.
A total of 2,860 posts in Service Branch Grade 2 and 3, 1,331 posts in LDC, 1,800 in technical education, 1,228 in the transport department, 1,000 in the women and child development department and 1,300 posts in the PWD are vacant, the DYFI said, adding that besides, there are thousands of vacancies in departments like the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
“With the population growth, the demand for public sector employees has increased manifold. Instead of filling these vacant positions, the lieutenant governor has been dismissing youth employed as marshals and civil defence personnel, and even after months of empty promises and announcements, they are still awaiting reinstatement,” the organisation said.
It added that on September 12, 2021, the DYFI protested outside then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, demanding a monthly unemployment allowance of Rs 5,000 for all unemployed individuals.
“Under pressure, the Delhi government announced on April 22, 2022 that this demand would be implemented. However, the scope of the allowance was limited to graduates and postgraduates. Not a single youth has received this benefit to date. Through this protest, we demand that the government immediately implement a monthly unemployment allowance for all unemployed youth without any conditions,” the DYFI said.
The protest concluded with a solemn vow taken by all participants that if the LG fails to act on these demands, youngsters will work to defeat the BJP in the Delhi Assembly polls due early next year. PTI AO RC
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