Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav has made an appeal to people to switch off their lights for 9 minutes at 9 pm on Wednesday to express solidarity with the youth and their families who are facing the consequences of unemployment.
“Mutthiyan jab bandh jati hain naujawanon ki, nind ud jaati hai julmi hukmaraon ki” (When the youths get determined, oppressive rulers lose their sleep),” he said in a tweet in Hindi.
“Come, let us light the torch of revolution by switching off the lights for 9 minutes at 9 pm tonight to express solidarity with the youths and their families who are facing the darkness of unemployment,” he tweeted with the hashtags #9Baje9Minute, #NoMoreBJP.
The opposition parties have stepped up the attack on the BJP government over the state of the economy and rise in unemployment after the GDP contracted by 23.9% in the first quarter of the current fiscal.
Party’s Anurag Bhadauria said that talented and educated youths holding degrees are ‘sitting jobless’ and the government is not doing anything for them. He said that it is the government’s responsibility to provide them jobs which the BJP government is not doing.
“What’s the fault of youths? We will be switching off lights in the night as a mark of our protest and to highlight the woes of the jobless youths,” he said.
The Congress has also extended support to Akhilesh’s call. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that the youth are raising their voice over stalled recruitments, examination dates and new jobs. She said that they need support in their fight for employment.
“The youth of this country want to make their voice heard,” she tweeted in Hindi using the hashtag #9Baje9Minute. She added “stop privatization and save government job”.
RJD leader and Lalu’s son Tejashwi Yadav also joined the call. He urged people of the state to come on their terrace, balcony or outside their houses and light lamps, candles and lanterns for 9 minutes at 9 pm against unemployment and privatisation of government establishments.
“Many self-help groups, especially unemployed people, have called on people to light lamps, candles and lanterns for 9 minutes at 9 pm today. Our party is supporting this campaign. Today the biggest issue in the country is unemployment,” Yadav told ANI.
“In Bihar around 7 crore youth are unemployed. Due to COVID-19 lockdown, many people came back but Nitish Kumar didn’t provide them employment even after the Supreme Court’s order,” the RJD leader added.
