Vacant Posts Abolishment Betrays J&K Youth: Sahni Why Punish Unemployed for Recruitment Failures?
DH NEWS SERVICE
jammu, May 24
The Jammu & Kashmir unit of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has strongly criticized the Union Territory government’s new Austerity Order, terming it as an “anti-youth and anti-employment decision,” and demanded its immediate rollback.
Addressing a press conference in Jammu, party’s J&K chief Manish Sahni said that declaring government posts vacant for the last two years as “Deemed Abolished” is a direct attack on the future of unemployed youth.
Sahni stated that Jammu & Kashmir is already among the worst unemployment-affected regions in the country, and instead of creating more job opportunities, the government has chosen to permanently eliminate vacant posts, which amounts to a cruel joke on the unemployed.
Citing official statistics, he said that according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), while the national average unemployment rate stands at 3.5 percent, Jammu & Kashmir’s unemployment rate has reached 6.7 percent. Despite this alarming situation, the government is adding to the frustration of unemployed youth by freezing fresh recruitment and abolishing vacant posts.
Recalling the ruling National Conference’s election promises, Sahni said the party had assured one lakh government jobs to the youth during the Assembly elections. However, after coming to power, the government has started surrendering already sanctioned posts instead of generating employment opportunities. He termed it a “direct betrayal” of educated youth.
The Shiv Sena leader further said that posts remained vacant for years primarily because recruitment agencies like JKSSB and JKPSC failed to conduct transparent and timely recruitment processes. He questioned why the burden of bureaucratic and institutional failures is being imposed on lakhs of educated youth who are gradually becoming overage while waiting for jobs.
Sahni added that according to official employment department data, more than 3.49 lakh educated youth are formally registered as unemployed in Jammu & Kashmir, while the actual figure is believed to be much higher.
Demanding immediate withdrawal of the order, Sahni urged the government to start regular recruitment on all vacant posts on an emergency basis. He warned that if the decision is not rolled back, Shiv Sena (UBT) will launch a large-scale agitation on the streets to protect the future of Jammu & Kashmir’s youth.
