Govt provided 63,000 jobs to youths: Cheema

Chandigarh: Speaking during the discussion on the governor's address in the Punjab assembly, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the AAP govt began its tenure with a strong message by issuing advertisements for 30,000 govt jobs."To date, the administration successfully provided 63,000 govt jobs to the youth of Punjab. This monumental initiative restored the younger generation's faith in the state govt, serving as a critical check on the concerning trend of brain drain," Cheema said.Pointing out that the govt also took major steps to strengthen technical education, Cheema said, "To address the growing demand for skill development, the govt increased Industrial Training Institute (ITI) capacity by 20,000 seats. Under the previous administrations, Punjab's 35,000 ITI seats frequently remained vacant."Accusing previous ruling parties of failing to curb the menace of drugs in Punjab, Cheema said, "The infamous term ‘Chitta' originated during the tenure of the SAD-BJP alliance. Captain Amarinder Singh took a solemn oath holding the holy Gutka Sahib during the 2017 Assembly election campaign but completely failed to curb the menace during his regime."He added, "In stark contrast, the AAP govt is driving the final nail into the coffin of the state's drug trade through the aggressive launch of its ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh' campaign."Speaking about social justice and equality, Cheema recalled his time as the leader of the opposition and said earlier govts ignored his demand for SC reservation in the recruitment of govt lawyers. He added, "Today, under the AAP govt, this reservation is officially introduced, resulting in the successful recruitment of 58 lawyers from the weaker sections of society."Speaking in the assembly, cabinet minister Aman Arora, while referring to the Congress party's 2017 manifesto, challenged Congress leaders to "show even a single promise they fulfilled during their 5-year tenure." Pointing to Congress's ‘Ghar-Ghar Rozgar' flagship scheme and an unemployment allowance of Rs 2,500 per month to every unemployed youth, Arora said, "Over 5 years, this amounted to Rs 1.5 lakh per person. Can you show me 1 youth in Punjab who received this from you?"Taking a dig at Congress leaders, Arora reminded them of the alleged humiliation they faced at the hands of their own party leader, Rahul Gandhi. "He threatened to ‘neutralise' you, yet you sat with heads down. You should have resigned that day," Arora said, adding that when it came to the Governor listing the govt's achievements, the Congress leaders walked out.