Srinagar: CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Friday said that Jammu and Kashmir’s unemployment rate of 21.6 percent and inflation rate of 7.39 percent belie the BJP government’s claims of growth and development in the union territory after the abrogation of Article 370.
According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), J&K has the highest unemployment rate in the country, he said, adding that it is “hugely disturbing”.
“The government gives concocted and fabricated stories vis-à-vis development, employment and other parameters of growth to mislead the people,” Tarigami alleged in a statement.
He said that the level of unemployment in the union territory can be gauged from the fact that tens of thousands of highly educated unemployed youths applied for 8,575 Class IV posts advertised by the J&K Services Selection Board in June last year.
The CMIE report states that the inflation rate of 7.39 percent has made Jammu and Kashmir the costliest place to live in India, Tarigami said.
“These figures expose the claims of the BJP government that J&K witnessed large growth and development after the revocation of the former state’s special status under Article 370 in August 2019,” he said.
