Congress launches yatra to woo youths ahead of assembly polls in Bihar

PATNA: The Congress on Sunday launched a state-wide padyatra in Bihar in a bid to woo youth and regain ground ahead of the Assembly polls later this year.

The yatra kickstarted from Bhitiharwa Ashram in West Champaran district with the slogan ‘palayan roko naukri do’ (stop migration, give jobs) under the leadership of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru and National Students Union of India (NSUI) in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar.

Kanhaiya Kumar said “sabko shiksha, sabko kaam, har Bihari ko atmasamman” (education, employment and self-esteem for all in Bihar) is the concept behind the yatra.

“There is hardly any examination which are fair and free and not marred by controversy and litigation. This government is unable to give jobs. Every competitive exam is marred by question paper leaks or ends in litigation in court because of other irregularities. Those who got employed recently, like government teachers, are being deprived of pension benefits that their seniors enjoy,” he told reporters.

Allavaru said, “Why has recruitment stopped? There is no talk of improving employment, education and health in Bihar. Through this yatra we will become the voice of the people and ask questions to the government,” he said.

Asked by reporters whether he would contest the assembly polls, Kanhaiya Kumar declined to comment. “I am only concerned about every job aspirant being assured of a seat that suits his or her qualifications,” he said.

However, a senior Congress leader, requesting anonymity said that the entry of former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president may not please the party’s allies, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Left parties.

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) working president Sanjay Jha said, “Congress and RJD should not talk about migration as maximum migration took place in 1990s when Congress and RJD were part of the government. (chief minister) Nitish Kumar gave youths of the state job. They do not have any agenda.”

Out of the total 7.80 crore electors in the state, the number of voters in the age group of 18-49 is approximately 5.36 crore. The number of youngest voters in the 18-19 age group category is 8 lakhs. The highest number of voters are in the age group of 30-39 with 2.04 crore, followed by 1.69 crore voters in the age group of 40-49 and 1.55 crore in the age group of 20-29.