Certificates Can’t Get You Jobs, Rahul Tells Youth
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said India's 40 crore youths constitute its "greatest strength"
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday gave political voice to a generation caught between degrees and disappearing job opportunities, accusing the central government of turning India’s demographic advantage into a crisis of unemployment, paper leaks and stalled recruitment, and saying that the country’s 40 crore youth were being denied the opportunity to realise their potential.
At the rain-soaked KP Ground in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, a city known as a hub for competitive examination preparation, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi addressed students and civil service aspirants at the Chhatron Ki Goonj programme. He said the country’s 40 crore young people were its “greatest strength”, but alleged that the government had failed to create enough employment opportunities to match their potential.
“Today, education certificates have no meaning in India because they cannot give you a job,” Gandhi said, attacking what he described as “the disconnect between years of education and the prospects of stable employment.”
He said that while India’s youth potential was greater than that of countries such as the US, China and Russia, young people were facing a combination of unemployment, stalled recruitment, examination paper leaks, declining manufacturing and the growing disruption caused by artificial intelligence.
“There are 40 crore energetic young people like you in this country; this is the nation's strength,” he said. “People talk about China, America and Russia, but all of them pale in comparison to the youth of India and their potential in the 21st century.”
The Congress leader said he wanted to speak about three things — “dard (pain), data and daulat (wealth)” — arguing that India had both the young population and vast quantities of data needed to power a 21st-century economy, but was failing to convert these advantages into jobs and economic security.
Rahul Gandhi cited a figure of only 12 permanent jobs for every 1,000 young people and linked the employment crisis to the decline in manufacturing, difficulties in securing loans and irregularities in competitive examinations.
His remarks came against the backdrop of student protests in several parts of the country over recruitment examinations, paper leaks and delays. Gandhi said young people who had taken to the streets had “lit a light in the darkness” by overcoming their fears and confronting the system.
The Congress leader sought to cast these protests as evidence that students were no longer willing to remain silent. But he also urged them to maintain a non-violent approach.
“We will never resort to hatred or violence. We will change the system with love and affection,” he said.
He also used the issue of data to make a broader argument about the changing nature of the economy. He said India had one of the largest volumes of data consumption in the world and claimed that the average Indian consumed around one gigabyte of data every day.
According to Gandhi, the combination of India’s young population and its data could become the foundation of a new economy. Instead, he alleged, young people were being drawn into social media while being pushed towards insecure gig work.
Referring to platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, Gandhi said young Indians were encouraged to spend hours consuming and creating online content, while employment opportunities increasingly included delivery and ride-hailing work.
“You can indulge in this 21st-century addiction, but you cannot get a job, you cannot find employment in this country,” he said.
He also flagged the impact of artificial intelligence, saying technological changes could further reshape the job market and make it imperative for the government to create an employment ecosystem capable of absorbing India’s young workforce.
The choice of Prayagraj was significant for the Congress’s campaign. The city is a major centre for competitive examination preparation, with large numbers of students arriving every year in the hope of securing government jobs.
The programme itself was held amid challenging weather conditions. Overnight rain had left parts of KP Ground waterlogged, with muddy patches across the venue. Congress workers used buckets to remove standing water, while JCB machines were deployed to spread limestone and sand, and a road roller was used to level the ground.
Rahul Gandhi arrived in Prayagraj in the afternoon and met Congress office-bearers and workers at Anand Bhawan-Swaraj Bhawan before proceeding to the student interaction. Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had led a motorcycle rally in the city on Friday ahead of the programme.
