Chandigarh, Aug 5 (PTI) Punjab Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Wednesday dared a Congress MLA to resign if his claim that not a single person in his constituency got a government job in the last four years was proved false.
Participating in a discussion in the Assembly, Arora said the state government provided over 68,000 government jobs, attracted investments worth Rs 1,83,837 crore, and generated 6,36,636 private sector jobs in the last four-and-a-half years.
The investment inflows directly and indirectly created over 6.36 lakh jobs in the private sector, he informed the House.
Citing an example, the minister said Japanese steel major AICHI Steel scaled up its planned investment from Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,100 crore, “impressed by the state government’s facilitation and ease of doing business”.
When Arora was sharing details about the government jobs, Congress MLA Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia claimed that no one from his Shahkot assembly constituency has got a government job.
“In my constituency, there are 234 villages and three nagar panchayats. Not even a single person there will raise his hand and say he got a government job,” Sherowalia claimed.
Arora then challenged the MLA.
“You fix a time, I will come to your constituency. We will have a common gathering. Let’s ask the people if they got government jobs. If anyone raises their hand, you leave politics; if no one does, I will quit,” Arora told Sherowalia.
He asserted that all government jobs were given on merit, without bribes or recommendations.
Highlighting the government’s push for skill development, the minister said the state budget allocated Rs 25 crore for the Skill Development Mission for the first time in 75 years, up from Rs 10 crore earlier.
He said the government facilitated jobs for over 22 lakh youths through placement camps and hand-holding exercises. Around 61 companies participated in a mega job fair held in Sunam recently, where nearly 700 youths were offered job letters on the spot.
The minister further said the state government was setting up a Rs 100-crore world-class Sant Attar Singh Maharaj Armed Forces Preparatory Institute in Sangrur district — the first-of-its-kind globally — to train 500 youths annually for officer-level positions in the armed forces.
Citing Central government data, Arora said Punjab’s unemployment rate among the 15-29 age group has dropped from 19.1 per cent in 2022 to 17 per cent in 2025. He also referenced the Periodic Labour Force Survey, which placed Punjab among the states with improved employment metrics.
Drawing a global analogy, he said India’s GDP was slightly higher than China’s at the time of Independence.
“China put every hand to work and became the world’s factory. In the near future, China may surpass the United States. We had the same capacity, but the right environment was missing. We are now correcting that,” he said.
Arora stressed that no government in the world could guarantee a job to every citizen, asserting that the real duty of a government was to create a conducive ecosystem for industry and employment.
“We are not here to just give numbers. We are creating an atmosphere where every youth can stand on his own feet,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the Opposition’s demand for a white paper on government jobs, he said, “The best, cheapest and most sustainable white paper is to ask the people directly. File an RTI or hold a public meeting. Let the people tell you if they got jobs.” Arora criticised the previous Congress government’s ‘Har Ghar Naukri’ promise, calling it the “biggest fraud” on Punjab’s youth.
He asserted that the AAP government has provided nearly 70,000 government jobs to youths in a transparent manner, without any quid pro quo. The government’s sole objective was to make Punjab a model for ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and generate dignified, skill-based employment, he asserted. PTI CHS RUK RUK
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