Prime Minister Narendra Modi charged “dynastic political parties” with promoting nepotism and corruption in government jobs through “rate-cards” while his dispensation has strived to “safe-guard” the dreams and aspirations of the common people through honest efforts to provide employment.

Modi presided over a “rozgar mela” on Tuesday where appointment letters were given to 70,000 youth. He slammed the opposition, especially family-based parties, for engaging in corruption in giving government jobs to the poor.

“The ongoing employment campaign in the country is a mark of both transparency and good governance. We have seen how dynastic parties encouraged nepotism in the past. Whenever government jobs were given, they promoted nepotism, favouritism, and corruption. These family-based parties have betrayed crores of young people. But since our government was formed in 2014, there has been transparency and nepotism has ended,” the prime minister said in his address.

He emphasised that lakhs of youth have benefited since the provision of holding interviews for Group C and D jobs was done away with. He insisted that while his government has made honest efforts at providing jobs, cases have been reported in the media where some (opposition-ruled) states have indulged in cash-for-jobs scams.

Referring to one such expose some days back, the prime minister said, “It is a matter of grave concern for our youth that when they seek a government job, they find there is a rate-card for each job, just like a rate for a dish in a hotel”. He added that this fixing of rates for small jobs like that of sanitation worker, driver, clerk, teacher, nurse, leads to exploitation of the poor.

“The business of cut-money has been in vogue. Where will the youth of the country go?” he said.Without naming Lalu Prasad or his party RJD, the prime minister said, “A former railway minister had taken away land of farmers and poor people for giving jobs. The matter is in court”.Prasad and his family members are facing charges of taking land for jobs in railways when he was holding the portfolio as a union minister.

“On the one hand you have parties which have a rate-card for jobs, while on the other hand we are working to safe-guard your bright future. Rate-cards crush your abilities, talents, and dreams. We are striving to safe-guard all your wishes and aspirations. The nation will decide whether it will run on rate-cards or thrive in a system where there are safe-guards. These parties snatch away from the common people the opportunities to move forward,” Modi said.

The prime minister also asserted that the provision of writing the competitive exams in regional languages has helped the youth from different parts of the country.

“In our country, some political parties weaponised language to make people clash with each other and to create rifts in the nation. But our government is using language as a medium to give people jobs and to empower them. We are ensuring that if anybody wants to realise his dreams, any language should not become a barrier for them. The way in which the government of India is laying stress on holding the entrance tests in their mother tongue is bringing maximum benefits to our youth. Holding exams in the regional language is giving an opportunity to our young friends to take part in them,” Modi said.