Over 17k youths died by suicide during BJP rule in MP, claims Cong

Bhopal, March 23 (IANS) Hours after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched "Yuva Niti", a youth centric scheme on Thursday, the Opposition Congress reacted sharply to it by releasing a list of scams unearthed during the nearly two decades (barring 2018-20) BJP-rule in the state.

The chief minister launched the scheme on the occasion of "Saheed Divas" and also to mark the completion of three years' tenure of the BJP-led state government.

"Over 10,000 students and nearly 7,000 youths ended their lives by suicides in over 18 years of BJP rule in the state," the Congress claimed.

Citing a recent statement of cabinet minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia made during the annual budget session of Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the Congress claimed that over 37 lakh educated youths and more than one lakh unskilled youths have approached the state government for jobs. Whereas, in the last three years (since April 1, 2020), the government could generate merely 21 jobs.

While addressing a press conference at party headquarters in Bhopal, the state Youth Congress president Vikrant Bhuria said that the BJP formed the government in 2003 and just after one year (2004) PMT exams scandal surfaced.

He claimed that a strong nexus of officials and powerful politicians was flourishing under the BJP government and more than one dozen scams pertaining to recruitment exams for government jobs had broken out, which ruined the future of nearly one crore youths in Madhya Pradesh.

"When the Assembly elections are just six months away, the BJP government is launching 'Yuva Niti', and therefore, it is necessary to do a detailed evaluation on the condition of youths in the state. This government has ruined the future of youths with one after another scams, including Vyapam and many other recruitment exams, coming to the fore," Bhuria said.

K.K. Mishra, senior Congress leader and in-charge of media and communication for Madhya Pradesh, meanwhile added that the scam related with dental and private medical college recruitment was bigger than Vyapam.

"CM Chouhan himself in 2006 had stated in the House that the matter would be investigated, however, no development took place since then. It was such a big scam that even CBI had before the Supreme Court had expressed its inability from investigating the matter. Today, when CM Chouhan is launching 'Yuva Niti', he should also explain why investigation reports of various scams were not made open to the people," Mishra added.