There won't be job crisis after lockdown, says Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday said that there will be no dearth of employment opportunities once the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus scare is lifted completely.

"We shall convert the challenges into opportunities. We have discussed this issue with many industrial houses and new employment opportunities will be created in the coming days," he told journalists during a videoconference.

He said that there is no dearth of money and resources as well and the central government is busy bringing normalcy in the nation.

"The country has been divided into red, green and orange zones. Each week, the situation will be reviewed and cities/towns can be shifted from red to orange and green zones depending on the prevalent conditions," he added.

Shekhawat also accused the Rajasthan government of failing to implement the lockdown norms strictly in Jaipur and Jodhpur.

Jaipur's corona patient count on Saturday was 954 and Jodhpur 575. Jaipur has reported 36 corona deaths so far, with Jodhpur another nine.

He said that the state's Congress government due to its political compulsions was not even seeking deployment of central forces in both these cities.

"The government should shun these compulsions and think about controlling the situation in these two cities by seeking the help of central forces," he added.

Shekhawat targeted the state government on account of its alleged poor preparation to tackle the migrant crisis in Rajasthan.

"Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot continued to seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi's permission to allow migrant workers to be sent back to their homes, claiming that he has 4,000 buses. Now, where are those 4000 buses?" he asked.

As there were no adequate arrangements made by the state government, the central government had to run passenger trains for the stranded workers, said Shekhawat.

Speaking on Jal Jeevan Mission run by his Jal Shakti Ministry, he said: "Funds totalling Rs 1,400 crore is already with the state government. It should use the money to generate jobs for the poor. Also, water woes will go away with the use of this fund."