Kharge Slams Modi as Indians Seek Jobs in Israel

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday slammed the centre over the issue of thousands of Indians seeking jobs in Israel amid the war with Hamas.

He said that there has been widespread rural distress and so the people are willing to risk their lives during the ongoing war.

He further slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, highlighting that in 2022-203, the daily wages for men in rural India was Rs 212, whereas, it was Rs 220 in 2014.

"Thousands of Indians made a beeline seeking JOBS in Israel, willing to risk their lives during a war. Why? In past 5 years, under Modi Govt, growth rate of real rural wages has become negative for both agriculture (-0.6%) and non-agriculture (-1.4%), which means there is widespread RURAL DISTRESS. Daily wages in rural India for men in 2022-23 is Rs212, which is lower than Rs220 in 2014," Kharge said in a post shared on X.

He underscored that the formal job creation has fallen to a 30-month low, which signifies that there are no jobs for the educated youth.

"Demand for work under MGNREGA is escalating by the day. Modi Govt had slashed its funds in the Budget 2023-24, but was forced to allocate Rs28,000 Cr more, due to high rural joblessness. Formal job creation has fallen to a 30-month low, which means there are no jobs for our educated youth," he added.

He further said that the actual disbursement of funds to Panchayats has been 10.4 per cent less than what was promised in the 14th Finance Commission (2015-2020) and the trend has continued.

Moreover, Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales did not see any increase in 2023, again indicating why household savings are at a 50-year low.

"Growth in Private consumption expenditure, which is a catalyst of creating jobs, is a 21-year low. Between 2018-19 to 2022-23, individual tax collection from the public has increased by 50.55 per cent, but corporate tax collection has increased only by 2.72 per cent," he said.

Emphasising that this shows ever-widening economic inequalities, Kharge said that the prices of vegetables have increased by 60 per cent in the last year which has heavily burdened the people.

Furthermore, criticising the Modi government, he stressed that the "final budget of Modi Govt is due in a few days...Will an arrogant Modi Govt, drunk with power, ever atone for the miseries that they have inflicted on the People of India?"

In December last year, the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments invited applications from construction workers for job openings in Israel. The government plans to send at least 10,000 workers to the conflict-hit nation. The workers will be selected by the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC).

Earlier this month, emphasising that India has a labour mobility partnership with Israel, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India remains committed to safe and legal mobility as Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have begun screening Indians wishing to travel to Israel for labour jobs.

"We have a labour mobility partnership with several countries across the world and we have an agreement now with Israel as well. The agreement itself started long before the conflict erupted...The idea behind the agreement was to put in place an institutional mechanism that regulates migration to that country," he said.

MEA Spokesperson further said that a large number of Indians are already working in the caregiving sector in Israel and ensured that there is regulated migration.

"We already have a large number of people, especially in the caregiving sector, in Israel and we want to ensure there is regulated migration and the rights of the people who go there are protected," he said.