Congress targets Modi government on price rise, 'ravaging’ the pathway from education to employment

The party flags rising prices of food items, including sugar, onions, and milk; ‘Where are the jobs after graduation?’ Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asks, pointing out that graduates account for 67% of unemployed Indians aged 20 to 29 years

Updated - August 25, 2026 02:01 am IST - New Delhi

Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. | Photo Credit: Arun Kulkarni

The Congress on Monday (August 24, 2026) targeted the Narendra Modi government over unemployment and price rise, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge accusing the government of “completely ravaging” young India’s entire pathway from education to employment.

Mr. Kharge cited a recent NITI Aayog report estimating that 8.7 crore Indians aged 15 to 29 years are neither studying, working or receiving training. Youth unemployment stood at 15.6%, rising to 19.5% among young women, he said, citing the Periodic Labour Force Survey for July 2026.

“Where are the jobs after graduation?” Mr. Kharge asked in a post on social media platform X, pointing out that graduates account for 67% of unemployed Indians aged 20 to 29 years. He also questioned the promise of creating two crore jobs every year, saying that, by that calculation, 24 crore jobs should have been created in 12 years.

Mr. Kharge alleged that lakhs of government posts remained vacant, while secure employment was increasingly being replaced by contractual and part-time work. “Expensive and inadequate education, paper leaks, delayed recruitment, a widening skills gap, and disappearing quality jobs have put the future of an entire generation at risk,” Mr. Kharge said.

“You, Modi ji, promised to achieve what previous governments could not do in 70 years! You have certainly delivered on that boast: an Education system that costs more, infested with RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), examinations young Indians cannot trust, and degrees that increasingly come without jobs,” the Congress chief said.

The NITI Aayog report, Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047, based on data from the 78th round of the National Sample Survey conducted in 2021, has called for subsidised training programmes to encourage self-employment, and align skills with local demand and emerging sectors.

The Congress also attacked the government over the rising prices of essential commodities. The party’s communications chief Jairam Ramesh cited a media report on a sharp rise in onion prices, saying prices in Nashik had increased by around 76% in a month, while wholesale rates had doubled in some States.

“After sugar, now onions too are slipping out of the common man’s reach,” Mr. Ramesh said on X. The government’s buffer stock was empty, he claimed, adding that the rising prices of milk, oil, fruits, and other essential commodities were adding to the burden on households.

“The Modi government, which claims to have ushered in achchedin (good days), should explain how the poor and middle class were expected to make ends meet,” Mr. Ramesh said.

Published - August 24, 2026 05:58 pm IST

Indian National Congress / Bharatiya Janata Party / employment / government / prices / labour / unemployment

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