Rahul Gandhi's job promise to Mizoram youths

Aizawl: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday promised more jobs to unemployed youths in Mizoram if his party retained power in the November 25 state assembly polls.

"If it retains power in Mizoram, the Congress government would create more jobs for youngsters, especially for those who are educated but unemployed," Gandhi said while addressing an election rally at Kolasib town on the Assam-Mizoram border in the northern region of the state.

He said: "One of the priorities of the Congress-led government in the state during the next five years would be to solve the unemployment problems."

Stressing on welfare of Mizo youths, Gandhi said the Congress government at the centre and the state would work together for the all-round development of the mountainous northeastern state.

"The Congress governments at the centre and in the state would try to ensure more educated Mizo youths find jobs across the country," he said amidst huge applause from the crowd at the rally.

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"National Institute of Technology, Mizoram University and Indian Institute of Mass Communication have been set up to educate Mizo youths in all streams," he said, promising a medical college would also be set up in the state.

"If suitable steps are taken and infrastructure developed, Mizoram would throw up sportspersons of international standard," the Congress leader, accompanied by Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla, told the gathering.

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Claiming that due to the initiative of the Congress government at the centre and party leaders both at the centre and state, peace has been restored in Mizoram as decades-old terrorism has been tackled. Gandhi said the development rhythm must continue unhindered in the state.

Lauding the success of the Congress government, led by Lalthanhawla, he said the state government's flagship programme New Land Use Policy (NLUP), has brought a positive economic change in the state.

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The NLUP was a special farming-cum-poverty alleviation project, launched in 2010 to support 125,000 "Jhumia" (shifting cultivator) families in four phases and the centre provided Rs. 2,873 crore for it.

The scheme aimed to benefit the farmers to solve food scarcity by moving away from "jhum cultivation" (slash and burn method of cultivation) to stable farming.

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Referring to the under-construction Rs. 500 crore Kaladan Multi-Modal Transport Project in adjoining Myanmar involving Kaladan river, Gandhi said both the central and state governments would also give special focus to develop surface connectivity to link the state with the rest of the country.

"Once the Kaladan transport project is over, it would help the land-locked state to directly export products to Kolkata and other parts of the world via Myanmar," the Congress leader added.

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Earlier in the day, Gandhi accompanied by AICC General Secretary Luizinho Faleiro and other leaders addressed an election meeting at Champai town on the Mizoram-Myanmar border in the eastern part of the state.

Elections to the 40-seat Mizoram assembly will be held November 25. Votes will be counted December 8.