Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday said that according to data released by the National Statistical Office, the state's unemployment rate has decreased to 4.7 percent which is significantly lower than both the national average and the employment rates in neighboring states. Responding to questions raised by opposition MLAs on the Governor's address in the state Assembly, he took a dig at the Congress party, accusing opposition leaders of presenting a false picture of unemployment rate in the state by relying on data from the CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy).
He criticized the opposition for selectively releasing misleading unemployment figures to further their own political agendas, seeking to gain political benefit by misrepresenting the facts.
Saini said that the latest report for the October-December 2024 quarter of the Periodic Labour Force Survey, released by the National Statistical Office, shows Haryana's unemployment rate at 4.7 per cent, whereas the national unemployment rate stands at 6.4 per cent. The Chief Minister said that the NITI Aayog relies solely on surveys conducted by the National Statistical Office, which is an agency of the Government of India, for all policy decisions.
Saini said that over the past 10 years, the current government has not only provided government jobs to reduce unemployment in the state but also focused on developing the skills of the youth for employment in the private sector. Taking a jibe at the Congress, he said, “During its 10-year tenure, Congress provided government jobs to only 86,000 youth. Jobs were given based on money and recommendations. In contrast, the current government has provided government jobs to around 1,77,000 eligible youth over the past 10 years, purely based on merit, without any nepotism, regionalism, or corruption.”
Saini said that the state government is continuously working to enhance the quality of education and provide better educational opportunities to students. There are 7,986 sanctioned posts in government colleges. Out of these, 5,422 posts are filled. The process of filling 2,424 Group-B Assistant Professor posts in various subjects is ongoing through the Haryana Public Service Commission.
Saini said that farmers' welfare is at the center of the government's policies. The government is purchasing all crops at Minimum Support Price (MSP). Since the year 2021-22, a total of Rs. 1.25 lakh crore has been directly transferred to farmers' bank accounts for food grains procured at MSP.
He said that opposition leaders are misleading farmers on MSP. He shared that during the Congress regime in 2014, only 30.07 lakh metric tonnes of paddy were procured. However, in 2024-25, the procurement has increased to 53.99 lakh metric tonnes. This clearly shows that the government is buying nearly twice as much paddy as before. The government ensures an adequate supply of urea during the sowing season.
BPL Cards will be verified
Replying to the increase in BPL cards in the last five years, the Chief Minister said the Opposition leaders are talking about more BPL cards being made. If any BPL card has been made in the state in a wrong way, then it will be investigated. He said that during the Congress regime, the business of giving recommendations was prevalent and BPL cards of the rich were made but the poor could not get included in the BPL category. He said in the last 10 years, the state government has brought a change in the method of estimating the number of families below the poverty line. According to government data, the number of BPL families in Haryana has witnessed a sharp rise over the past five years, with the latest figures for 2024-25 the cumulative number of BPL households reaching 51.83 lakh.
Cong stages walkout
The Congress staged a walkout as soon as the Chief Minister began his reply to the Governor's address. Underlining that the government had given 26,000 jobs, Saini had only started his speech when former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda asked him for how long had these jobs been held back. Hooda said that the CM was not restricting himself to giving a reply on the Governor's address but was giving a speech on the government's achievements.
A brief exchange took place between the treasury benches and the Congress before the main Opposition party staged a walkout. Later, speaking to the media, Hooda, accompanied by other Congress MLAs, said that the government had nothing to say on the Governor's address. Saini criticized the Congress MLAs for walking out of the House, stating that the opposition lacks the ability to listen to the truth. He said that Congress won’t even be present in the Assembly in 2029.
He further added that Congress has no real issues and only focuses on making baseless accusations. He recalled stating during the municipal elections that Congress would be wiped out due to its flawed policies, and the results proved him right as not a single Congress candidate won.