'8 cheetahs have come, now tell why 16 cr jobs didn't...': Rahul Gandhi's dig at PM Modi

Rahul Gandhi's remarks came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday (September 17, 2022) took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the arrival of eight cheetahs in India and asked him why 16 crore jobs were not created in eight years. Rahul's remarks came after PM Modi released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

"Eight cheetahs have come, now tell why 16 crore jobs didn't come in eight years," Gandhi, who is currently leading Congress' 150-day long "Bharat Jodo Yatra", said in a tweet in Hindi. 

"Yuvaon ki hai lalkar, le kar rahenge rozgaar (It is the cry of the youth that they will have employment)," he added using the hashtag "Rashtriya Berozgar Diwas" (National Unemployment Day).

8 चीते तो आ गए, अब ये बताइए,
8 सालों में 16 करोड़ रोज़गार क्यों नहीं आए?

युवाओं की है ललकार, ले कर रहेंगे रोज़गार।#राष्ट्रीय_बेरोजगार_दिवस pic.twitter.com/QEFUF90lkm

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 17, 2022

The Congress on Saturday claimed that in view of the "worrying" job situation in the country, the youth are marking the prime minister's birthday as "National Unemployment Day", and demanded that he provide employment to them as promised.

Modi promised to provide two crore jobs annually but instead only seven lakh people have been given employment in the last eight years, the Grand Old Party claimed, adding that 22 crore people had applied for jobs.

Earlier on Saturday, eight Cheetahs -- five female and three male and aged between 30 to 66 months -- arrived in India from Namibia by a special flight and were released by PM Narendra Modi in the Kuno National Park, seven decades after they became extinct in the country.

A long wait is over, the Cheetahs have a home in India at the Kuno National Park. pic.twitter.com/8FqZAOi62F

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 17, 2022

No "constructive efforts" were made by the previous governments to revive the population of the world's fastest animal in India, PM Modi said.

"It is unfortunate that we declared cheetahs extinct in 1952, but for decades no constructive efforts were made to reintroduce them in India. Now, with new strength and vigour, the country has embarked on the project of reviving the population of cheetahs during this 'amrit kaal'," he added.

"I thank our friendly nation Namibia and the government there for their help to reintroduce cheetahs to Indian soil after decades,' Modi said, adding that only three cheetahs were left in the wild in India in 1947 which were unfortunately hunted.

Project Cheetah is our endeavour towards environment and wildlife conservation. https://t.co/ZWnf3HqKfi

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 17, 2022

The last cheetah died in the country in 1947 in the Korea district in present-day Chhattisgarh, earlier part of Madhya Pradesh, and the species was declared extinct from India in 1952.

(With agency inputs)