Shortly after a report on India's unemployment rate was leaked in the media, a battle of words broke out on social media with Congress leader Rahul Gadhi taking the first potshot at Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his #HowstheJobs jibe that soon turned into the top trends on twitter. In a swift retaliation BJP dubbed the report as #FakeNews.
Shortly after the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report on India's unemployment rate leaked in media, #HowstheJobs started trending on Twitter, launching questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged failure to fulfill promises to provide jobs to youth made by him during his 4.5 years tenure.
#HowstheJobs is a parody on catchphrase 'How's the Josh' from the recent Vicky-Kaushal starring recent blockbuster 'Uri: The Surgical Strike'. The phrase had gained social currency and became widely popular on the Internet after several BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Union Minister Smriti Irani used it at various platforms.
"NoMo Jobs! The Fuhrer promised us 2 Cr jobs a year. 5 years later, his leaked job creation report card reveals a National Disaster. Unemployment is at its highest in 45 yrs. 6.5 Cr youth are jobless in 2017-18 alone. Time for NoMo2Go," Rahul tweeted, referencing the nickname for Adolf Hitler and also using the #HowsTheJobs.
Claiming a sharp rise in jobs created in the last 15 months, the BJP through its official twitter handle responded to the Congress leader as "only a man who hasn't ever held a proper job & is totally jobless can peddle such #FakeNews!"
"It's clear that he has inherited Mussolini's shortsightedness and has myopic understanding of issues. EPFO's real data shows sharp increase in jobs, created in just the last 15 months. Only a man who hasn't ever held a proper job & is totally jobless can peddle such #FakeNews!," the BJP tweeted.
Post the leaked employment report that claimed that the unemployment rate in the country had hit a 45-year-high of 6.1 per cent in 2017-18, there was an outburst of reactions by the twitterati all using the #HowstheJobs hashtag.
"#HowsTheJobs Under Modi Govt: Unemployment at 45 year high - Report suppressed. GDP tumbling - Data fudged. Farmer Suicides Alarming - Data not collected. Only after Modi's exit we will find out damage he has inflicted on Nation, Economy," a twitter post read.
.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
