With the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections barely a few weeks away, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday hit out at BJP saying deception is the only policy of the BJP for the youth of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the unemployment rate among youth in Jammu and Kashmir as of March 2024 is a staggering 28.2 per cent, Congress chief Kharge said on his X handle.

Many exam paper leaks, bribes, and rampant corruption have delayed hiring across departments for 4 years now, he accused BJP government. An astounding 65 per cent of government department posts in Jammu & Kashmir remain vacant since 2019, Kharge added.

In Jammu and Kashmir, over 60,000 government daily wagers have been toiling for more than 15 years, earning a meager Rs 300 per day, Kharge said. Despite their long-standing service, they remain on a contract basis, even in essential departments such as Power, Public Health, and Engineering, highlighting the precarious nature of the job crisis, the Congress chief added.

Hitting out at BJP, Kharge said, “Even though BJP promised industry in Jammu and Kashmir, it has no major manufacturing units.” The private sector is confined to providing services in farming, hospitality, and health, he added.

The Congress leader slammed BJP government and said despite the introduction of the New Industrial Policy in 2021, a mere 3per cent of investments have materialised on the ground. The 40 per cent of projects under the PM’s Development Package, 2015, remain pending, Kharge noted.

“On October 1, the youth of Jammu and Kashmir will show the exit door to Prime Minister Narendra Modi & Company”, the Congress chief said.

The Union Territory will vote in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1. The result will be announced on October 8.

On August 31, the Election Commission of India postponed the polling day for Haryana from October 1 to October 5, 2024, and accordingly counting day for Jammu and Kashmir, and Haryana Assembly elections from October 4 to October 8, 2024. There are no changes to the voting dates of Jammu and Kashmir except the result date.

According to ECI, there are a total of 90 Assembly constituencies in the Union Territory, of which 74 are general, Scheduled Castes are 7, and Scheduled Tribes are 9.

After inspecting the Tihar Jail, Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gahlot has announced several prison reform steps, including a mental health programme.

According to an official statement, a comprehensive mental health programme will be launched across all Delhi prisons along with many reforms like an electric vehicle facility for visitors at Tihar Jail and urgent renovation and repairs of toilets.

The Delhi Home Minister said, “We believe that every individual has the potential to reform, and it is our responsibility to provide them with the necessary resources to do so.”

During his visit, the Minister reviewed several key initiatives and reforms currently being implemented at Delhi Prisons and directed steps for further improvement.

Gahlot visited Central Jail No. 6 (women) and reviewed the vocational training being imparted by the “Chal Charkha Unit,” the Stitching and Jewellery Unit, and praised the NGOs for providing valuable vocational training to the inmates, as per the statement.

To improve healthcare services in the jail premises, the Minister mooted the introduction of more comprehensive health programmes that will focus on both physical and mental health.

 “A comprehensive mental health programme will be launched in all the prisons of Delhi for improving inmate health conditions for their overall well-being and rehabilitation,” Gahlot said.

In line with the broader agenda of promoting green transportation and reducing carbon footprints across all sectors, the Minister proposed to introduce an electric vehicle (EV) facility at the Tihar Jail for visitors.

Nearly 4000 visitors arrive at the Delhi Prisons complex daily to meet the inmates.

According to the statement, Gahlot directed the authorities to ensure clean, safe, and humane living environments, including better sanitation, adequate ventilation, and access to basic amenities for all the inmates.

The minister was accompanied by Delhi Home Secretary Chanchal Yadav, Director General of Prisons Satish Golcha, Additional Inspector General Ajay Kumar Bisht, Deputy Inspector General (HQ and Tihar Range) Rajeev Singh, and other senior officers of the Prison Department, the statement added. 

NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Congress head Nana Patole and other leaders, as well as thousands of workers, held a protest march from Hutatma Chowk to Gateway of India over the collapse of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district.

Leaders of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi began the protest march by laying wreaths at Hutatma Chowk, a memorial to those martyred in the ‘Samyukta Maharashtra’ agitation.

The statue of the 17th century Maratha warrior king at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil, some 480 kilometres from here, fell on August 26.

The statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4, 2023, on the occasion of Navy Day.

The protest march aims to express the people of Maharashtra’s anger over the collapse of a statue just eight months after it was unveiled by the PM, said NCP (SP) leader Rajesh Tope and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sunil Prabhu.

NCP (SP) chief Pawar participated in the protest march, walking some distance. The march ended a couple of kilometres away at the Gateway of India before he got into his vehicle.

Speaking to reporters, Prabhu said that the protest was peaceful. The march, which began sometime after 11 am, was joined by Kolhapur Congress MP Shahu Chhatrapati, NCP (SP) Baramati MP Supriya Sule, and MLA Anil Deshmukh.

During the protest march, a bust of the legendary warrior king was placed at Hutatma Chowk. Participants in the march carried placards denouncing the statue collapse and shouted slogans against the Eknath Shinde government.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai told reporters that PM Modi was emotional, he expressed his grief over the incident but the government of Maharashtra, which should have expressed itself, it didn’t.

On the contrary, they started picking up with the Opposition in a wrong way and calling that “we are politicising the issue whereas this was the most emotional issue that Maharashtra never witnessed in the past”, he added. He demanded the resignation of the Maharashtra Chief Minister over the collapse incident.