Congress President Attacks Modi Government: Mallikarjun Kharge Points to 8.7 Crore Jobless Indian Youth

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BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY’S OPPOSITION strikes back. The Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claims that the Modi government has failed to build a working path from education to employment for India’s youth. The claims came on Monday, August 24, 2026, in which Kharge pointed to a recent NITI Aayog report in which it was found that around 8.7 crore young Indians between age 15 and 29 are without education and employment, and no such training given to them.

Kharge took the matter to the social media platform X and attacked the Modi Government for disrupting the young Indians’ education and even their attempt on finding a job. He had a claim on the numbers from the government’s own Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for July 2026, saying that the percent of unemployment climbed from 15.6 percent to 19.5 percent among women.

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NITI Aayog’s Report Clear All the Doubts

“Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat 2047” is the report released by the NITI Aayog. The report uses data from the 78th round of the National Sample Survey, that was carried out in 2021, and estimates that nearly 11 percent of all Indians aged 15 to 29 fall into the category, Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET).

Youth are unable to find the job after getting stuck in this position after the completion of their higher studies. The time and money  wasted on formal education has blocked their expenses to spend it fairly on skills training. 88 percent of the NEET youth, these reports are more further engaged in unpaid domestic work and caregiving at home, with women making up the largest share of this group.

The report has dug into bigger issues among the ones who do graduate but only 8.25 percent end up in jobs that match their speciality or qualification. Blaming the limited exposure, lack of practical learning and training related to the industries that have specific demands. NITI Aayog pointed at the barriers that keep young people out of work, this includes poverty, family pressure, unsafe transportation, no proper guidance and also early marriage. But there’s also a positive report that says more than 7.67 crore individuals trained under various skilling programmes since 2014-15.

See Also: Mallikarjun Kharge Urges Bihar Voters to Teach Lesson to 'Opportunistic Rulers'

Kharge Points at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Joblessness in India

Mallikarjun Kharge directed a set of pointed questions at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, revolving around the lack of jobs for India’s graduates. 67 percent of all unemployed Indians are graduates who are between the ages of 20 and 29, and the younger graduates from age 15 to 25 is close to 40 percent. He continues to argue and mentions that the students simply go jobless even after finishing their degrees, their families go on to spend their life savings and take education loans.

He adds further by bringing up BJP’S older promise of creating two crore jobs every year, calculating that this should have added up to 24 jobs over the past 12 years. Instead, lakhs of government job openings still remain unfilled, and secure, permanent jobs are now being replaced by short-term contract work. Kharge also brought up the paper leaks in competitive exams, delays in recruitment, a wide gap in skills, and a shortage of quality jobs for putting an entire generation’s future at risk.

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