Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday, 28 January took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks that selling 'pakodas' was a kind of employment, and claimed that India was actually witnessing "a jobless growth".
In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said the Modi dispensation was "clueless" on how to create jobs and cautioned people against an "assault on our common sense by wild claims of job creation by the government".
Modi, in a recent interview to a television channel, reportedly said, “If a person selling pakodas (snacks) earns Rs 200 at the end of the day, will it be considered employment or not?”
Chidambaram, a former finance minister, said the claim of 70 lakh new jobs in 2017-18 had been punctured by two scholars and there were reports that the number of contributing members in Provident Fund declined from 462 lakh in July 2017 to 438 lakh in September 2017.
He said in the debate on jobs, it was important to keep the distinction between 'job' and 'self-employment'.
Chidambaram said earlier it was claimed that a 'Mudra' loan of Rs 43,000 (average loan size) created at least one new job.
"Show me one person who can 'create' a new job out of Rs 43,000 investment," he said.
The senior Congress leader further said:
Congress Insulting Poor and Aspirational Indians: BJP
Meanwhile, the BJP lashed out at Chidambaram’s remarks, accusing the Congress of “insulting the poor and aspirational Indians”.
Referring to Modi's humble beginning as a tea-seller, it said that the Congress had still not come to terms with the "historic" mandate for an honest and hardworking 'chaiwallah' (tea-seller) over the corrupt and dynasts.
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