An illusory sum of Rs 15 lakh for every Indian. A call to bang on plates. Worsening joblessness.
All these legacies of Narendra Modi will be highlighted on the Prime Minister’s birthday by a nationwide youth movement against unemployment, Yuva Halla Bol, which has decided to observe September 17 as “Jumla Unemployment Day”.
Anupam, national convener of the Yuva Halla Bol, said in a statement: “The Prime Minister’s birthday will be dedicated to the issues of unemployment and jumla.”
Rishav Ranjan, spokesperson for the movement, told The Telegraph from Delhi: “We have planned a few things for the day, including the beating of utensils and clapping —a method Modi had invented to keep the people upbeat.”
He said he didn’t want to reveal too much about the plans for obvious reasons.
Modi had during his 2014 election campaign pledged to repatriate black money stashed in foreign banks and suggested the amount was so big that every Indian “will get Rs 15-20 lakh”. This was seen as a promise to deposit Rs 15 lakh with every Indian’s bank account.
But a few months after Modi’s election victory, then BJP president Amit Shah had said the statement was a “jumla” — an idiomatic way of speaking — not to be taken literally.
When Covid first broke out, Modi had appealed to people to beat utensils and clap for five minutes from 7pm on March 22 last year to boost the morale of health workers fighting the pandemic.
Even before Covid struck, unemployment figures in India had been the worst in four decades. The situation has only worsened during the pandemic, with Modi’s government accused of mismanaging both the economy and healthcare.
“We had observed Modi’s 70th birthday (last year) as Jumla Day. This time, many other organisations and unions too have decided to participate in our movement,” Ranjan said.
“Youngsters across the nation are eager to voice their issues through this campaign. They want to highlight the unemployment and express anguish against the Modi government.”
He added: “We want to turn unemployment and privatisation into big political issues so that the Prime Minister, his government, Opposition parties and the media address these real issues.”
Alankrit Shukla, a banker, extended his support to the Yuva Halla Bol decision on Thursday, tweeting: “I was appearing in examinations a few years ago and can understand the pain of unemployment.”
