Staff REPORTER
ITANAGAR, Aug 5: The Congress party in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday staged a strong protest against price rise, unemployment, GST on essential commodities and the Centre’s new military recruitment scheme, ‘Agnipath’.
The Agnipath scheme allows citizens from 17 and a half to 21 years of age to serve in the Armed Forces for four years. On completion of four-year term, 25 percent of these soldiers (Agniveers) will be able to apply to get enlisted as a regular cadre of the Armed Forces.
Holding placards, banners the Congress workers led by Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee President and former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki took out a “Raj Bhavan Gherao” programme from the Nyokum Lapang here as part of the grand old party’s nationwide protest against the ruling dispensation at the Centre and its “anti-people” policies.
However, the security forces personnel guarding the important installation barricaded the route leading to the Raj Bhavan and disallowed them from marching ahead, forcing them to stage a demonstration at the approach of the Raj Bhavan road along the NH-415.
The slogan-shouting protesters strongly condemned the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for its “wrong” policies because of which the common people are suffering immensely with the skyrocketing market prices of essential items hitting them hard.
Expressing deep concern over the ‘dismal’ job scenario as well as ‘ever rising’ unemployment rate, the former Chief Minister claimed that the highly educated unemployed youths, in absence of jobs of their choice, are compelled to apply for the post of peon, chowkidar (watchman).
Tuki said, unemployment is a serious problem for the society and the country. For this, each and every citizen needs to raise their voice and that government needs to ponder this with all seriousness or else who will think about the future of the upcoming generation.
“Government must ensure job security for the ‘future’ of our country. We strongly condemn the government’s ‘wrong’ policies and instead, it should make good policies for the better ease of living for the common man,” the APCC president said.
“We demand the government to reduce the prices of daily use commodities, including edible oil, cooking gas and petrol/diesel, remove GST especially from food items and medicines, rollback the short-term Agnipath scheme and restore the old recruitment policy, and to frame a policy for giving employment to the unemployed youth,” Tuki said.
Taking a dig at the ruling party, Arunachal Pradesh Youth Congress president Tarh Joney strongly opposed the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign launched by PM Narendra Modi-led BJP government, claiming that the campaign was launched just to cover up the various national important issues like rising prices of essential commodities including cooking gas, fuel, medicine etc, and also unemployment.
“The BJP government is humiliating our country’s national flag by selling the same @ Rs 25 and producing ‘poor’ quality flags. BJP is blackmailing the public in the name of patriotism. Patriotism comes from one’s heart, not by hoisting the national flag,” said the APYC president while speaking to media persons during the party’s Raj Bhavan Gherao programme.