Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised to generate employment and fill vacancies in government jobs if the Congress was elected to power in the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka.

At a rally in Belgaum, where he and other Congress leaders also promised a Yuva Nidhi unemployment allowance if the party formed the government, Rahul said a Congress administration would work for “the poor, the weak and small traders”.

On his first visit to Karnataka after walking for over 20 days through the state during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul said the thousands of youngsters he had met during the walkathon had complained of a lack of jobs in the state since the BJP came to power in 2019.

“Youths of Karnataka told me they don’t get enough jobs, whatever their qualifications and whichever college they went to. Everyone I met (during the Yatra) said this was the most corrupt government in the country and that one had to pay (a) 40 per cent (cut) to get anything done here,” Rahul told the gathering.

“So, today, the Congress party has responded to the call of the youths by promising Rs 3,000 every month for (unemployed) graduates and Rs 1,500 for (jobless) diploma holders for a period of two years.”

Further, if elected to power, the Congress “will generate 10 lakh jobs for youths over five years and fill 2.5 lakh government vacancies for Karnataka’s youngsters”, he promised.

Rahul underlined that his party had already promised three other projects to the state.