Haryana Assembly elections 2024 | Why did youth of Haryana turn to 'Dunki', asks Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the BJP has done "grave injustice" to the youth of the country, including in Haryana, by snatching employment opportunities and forced them to undertake a "journey of torture" to foreign countries.

He made the remarks as he shared on social media a video of his recent interaction in the US with some immigrants from Haryana who talked about the unemployment back home forcing them to move to the US and face struggles in a foreign country.

In his post in Hindi accompanying the video, Gandhi said, "Why did the youth of Haryana turn to Dunki?"

"Dunki" is a term given to the illegal immigration technique of taking 'donkey flights' and came into popular usage with a Rajkumar Hirani movie starring Shahrukh Khan releasing last year.

"Lakhs of families are paying the price of the 'disease of unemployment' spread by the BJP by being away from their loved ones," Gandhi said on X.

"During my visit to America, I met those youngsters from Haryana who are struggling in a foreign country, away from their families," the former Congress chief said.

Gandhi said when he met their families on his return to India, their eyes welled up with pain.

Lack of opportunities has taken away the support of fathers from the children and the support of their old age from the elderly, he pointed out.

"In 10 years, the BJP has done a grave injustice to the youth of the country including in Haryana by snatching employment opportunities from them," Gandhi said.

"Forced by broken trust and with a defeated mind, the youth are undertaking a 'journey of torture'. If these migratory birds, separated from their nests, get a chance to earn a living in their own country, among their loved ones, then they will never leave their homeland," he asserted.

"It is our resolve that as soon as the Congress government is formed, we will create such a system in Haryana in which the youth will not have to stay away from their loved ones for their dreams," the Congress leader stressed.

In the video, Gandhi is seen interacting with the youth from Haryana in the US and asking about their struggles in a foreign land. Gandhi was accompanied by Indian Overseas Congress president Sam Pitroda during the interaction.

They youth tell him that deportation is their biggest fear and it was unemployment that had driven them out of their homeland in search of a better life.

In the video, Gandhi is also seen visiting the family of one of the immigrants, who was injured in a road accident in the US, on return to India. The family tells him about their pain of being away from their loved one.

Rahul Gandhi on Friday had visited a village in Haryana's Karnal district to meet with the family of the young man who was injured in an accident in the US.

In the October 5 Haryana polls, the Congress, which is eyeing to wrest power from the ruling BJP, has made farmers and unemployment key poll issues.

Assembly Elections 2024 | In the first assembly polls since the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi and the BJP face a rejuvenated and vindicated Opposition in the Haryana assembly polls. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir is voting after almost a decade and it remains to be seen how the abrogation of Article 370 has impacted the political landscape of the Valley. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.