Being a pakoda seller better than being jobless, says Amit Shah

Being a pakoda seller better than being jobless, says Amit Shah

In the maiden Parliament speech of BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Amit Shah was marked by a return of the ‘pakoda politics’, which refers to a massive controversy that began when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a recent statement, said selling ‘pakodas’ is a form of employment.

With Modi in audience in the Rajya Sabha, Shah said there is no shame in selling ‘pakodas’. “It is better to sell ‘pakodas’ than remain unemployed. Selling ‘pakodas’ is not a matter of shame. It’s a shame that P Chidambaram is comparing it with begging,” Shah said.

Modi watched as his closest aide, now a Member of Parliament in the Upper House, made his debut speech, marked by another round of attacks on the Congress, and a listing out of the government’s achievements in three-and-a-half years.

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“When a tea-seller can become the prime minister, who knows one day the next generation of a pakoda seller becomes an industrialist,” the BJP president said.

In a recent interview to a television channel, Modi had said, “If a person selling pakodas (snacks) earns Rs 200 at the end of the day, will it be considered employment or not?”

In response, P Chidambaram among others had taken a dig at the PM. “If selling ‘pakodas’ is a job, even begging is a job,” the senior Congress leader had said.

In his speech today, Amit Shah admitted that employment is a major issue among the people today. “I am not saying that jobs are not an issue. They are. But why do we continue to have such problems after 55 years of Congress rule?” he said.