Congress announces scholarships for students in Madhya Pradesh, BJP cries foul

Following its announcement of scholarships for students in classes I through XII, which caused a political earthquake in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress said on Saturday that the BJP administration has ruined youth's future in this despicable era of suicide, unemployment, and recruitment scams.

On Saturday, the Congress presented a dismal picture of Madhya Pradesh's recruitment and education system. Party spokeswoman Shobha Oza listed a number of recruitment frauds and added, "Much like land mafia, sand mafia, liquor mafia, even an education mafia was allowed to flourish in the state over the last two decades."

"There are countless scams — Vyapam, teachers, police, nursing, patwari— while examinations are not held on time and results are delayed," she remarked at a news conference in Delhi. Patwari and constable posts were sold for Rs 15 lakh and Rs 8 lakh, respectively. An indication of the magnitude of the anguish is this unsettling fact: 12 lakh applications were received for 6,000 patwari postings, with 4 lakh of them being engineers, MBAs, and PhD holders.

She gave the following explanation of the severity of the unemployment crisis: "In the last 18 years of BJP rule, over 17,000 youths have committed suicide." More than 34.76% of young people in their 20s and 24s do not have employment. Fifteen percent of people in the 25–29 age range are unemployed. Eighty-two percent of women are unemployed. There is only one teacher for 7,793 schools. There are 2,621 schools without a teacher. There are more than 36,000 schools without power.

Seeing an opening, the Congress broadened the purview of its welfare programs to include full scholarships for learners of all educational levels. A gas cylinder for Rs 500 and Rs 1,500 per month for each woman were among the prior promises made by the Congress, but the state unit requested Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to declare scholarships for all students at the public event in Mandla two days ago. Since scholarships are often awarded on the basis of merit, they serve more as incentives for education.

The Padho-Padhao scheme, which Priyanka announced, will give students in classes I through VIII Rs 500 per month, in classes IX through X Rs 1,000 per month, and in classes XI through XII Rs 1,500 per month. Priyanka's uncertainty regarding the duration of the monetary incentive—monthly or annual—reflected the announcement's ill-planned nature. Nonetheless, she claimed in a tweet that there was no misunderstanding and that the party was determined to pay.

Shocked too, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan remarked, "Kamal Nath can cheat the family as well as the Gandhi family cheats the country." He attacked the Congress for misleading the public with irrational promises, claiming that they were aware that neither their government nor their financial obligations would materialize. The news so unsettled the BJP that they filed a petition with the Election Commission, requesting that Priyanka be held accountable for her outrageous pledge, which went against the model code of conduct.

When asked how a heavily indebted state could keep such promises, Oza responded, "We have to make sure that our children study. The education system is in tatters." Priyankaji's announcements will be included in our manifesto. Promises made earlier have been kept. Regarding the complaint to the Election Commission, the BJP needs to provide an explanation for why it keeps mentioning the release of the next installment of the Ladli Behna scheme in its billboards and commercials.