Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala BJP president and Nemom MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, accusing him of travelling to New Delhi to join protests over the alleged NEET paper leak while unemployed youth in Kerala continued to agitate for government jobs.

After meeting candidates protesting over alleged irregularities and delays in Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) appointments, Chandrasekhar said the state government's priority should be addressing the concerns of qualified job aspirants rather than participating in political protests outside the state.

Calling the Congress' stand "hypocritical", the BJP leader said the Chief Minister should first respond to the demands of Kerala's unemployed youth.

"This is the ridiculousness and hypocrisy of the Congress Party that a Chief Minister of a state that has the highest unemployment in the country will go there (Delhi) and talk about unemployment and education of children where his own children are sitting on strike here. They're eating mud here. They want what their right. They have to be given jobs. They have passed an exam," Chandrasekhar told ANI.

He said thousands of young people had cleared PSC examinations with the hope of securing government jobs but were still waiting for appointments.

"Our youth write PSC examinations for employment. But they are not getting those job opportunities that are rightfully theirs," he said.

Questions ₹10,000 crore borrowing

Chandrasekhar also questioned the government's financial priorities, alleging that it had borrowed thousands of crores without creating employment opportunities.

"In the last two and a half months, the CM has taken an additional debt of ₹10,000 crore. Where has that money gone? Has one job been created? Have any of these youngsters been given jobs? These are questions that he should answer," he said.

Claiming that Kerala continued to face one of the country's highest unemployment rates, Chandrasekhar said the government had failed to address one of the state's biggest concerns despite assuming office.

He also criticised what he described as political "drama" over national issues while, according to him, the problems faced by Kerala's youth remained unresolved.

"We must clearly understand the drama played by Rahul Gandhi in Delhi and the drama staged by the CPM. When the youth here face a genuine crisis, they do nothing to resolve it. They won't even lift a finger! And yet they go there and make all kinds of statements," he alleged.

'Employment is their right'

Expressing solidarity with the protesting PSC rank holders, Chandrasekhar said candidates who had successfully cleared the recruitment process deserved timely appointments.

"This is the right of these youth. Employment is their right. We extend our 100 per cent support to those protesting here regarding the PSC," he said.

The BJP leader also announced that he would meet the state's education minister next week to place the protesters' grievances before the government.

He said the BJP would continue to raise the issue inside the Kerala Assembly until the demands of the candidates were addressed.

"The BJP will stand by every youngster's right to good education and good jobs. We will stand by them. We will raise their issue in the assembly. We will talk to the education minister and demand that their rights be fulfilled," Chandrasekhar said.

PSC recruitment remains a key political issue

The remarks come amid continuing protests by Kerala PSC rank holders, who have alleged delays and irregularities in appointments despite qualifying through the state's competitive recruitment process. Candidates have been demanding appointments to notified vacancies and faster recruitment.

Chandrasekhar's criticism also comes as Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan joined opposition leaders in New Delhi to protest over the alleged NEET paper leak. The BJP leader argued that while national issues were important, the state government should first address the concerns of unemployed youth in Kerala who have been waiting for jobs after clearing PSC examinations.

With agency inputs