Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday launched the party’s flagship election campaign - 'Har Ghar Ton Ikk Captain' (HGC), with the promise of one job in every family, backed by unemployment allowance in the interim, and a vow to wean the youth of the state away from drugs.The campaign, to be implemented by all the 600-odd party ticket aspirants, has kick-started with 100 of them being given registration kits today to initiate the process of training their workers. The campaign will then be taken forward at the district level through the trained workers.The ticket seekers are being entrusted with the task of reaching out to 10,000 youth each as part of the campaign, registration for which has started with the launch today and will continue till the culmination of the first phase on December 20.Aimed at empowering the youth of Punjab with the twin objective of providing them with employment, the campaign will reach out to 40 lakh households in the first phase, providing employment to 20 lakh youth in the age group of 18-35. The youth, in exchange, would have to pledge to stay drug-free as part of the campaign, themed around the catchy slogan of 'Captain ne saun chakki har ghar ikk naukri pakki'.The mass registration drive, which kicked off with the campaign launch, will see the applicants being provided a unique ID through a 'Berozgari Bhatta Card', which they can activate by dialing a number and entering the card details for the completion of their registration. A budget of Rs. 10,000 crore would be set aside for the initiative, which will roll out within the first 100 days of Captain Amarinder’s taking over the state’s reigns.
Addressing the media on at the launch event, also attended by AICC secretary Harish Choudhary and former Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Captain Amarinder said the programme aims at providing one job per household to youth between the age of 18-35. Till such employment is provided, unemployment allowance of Rs. 2500 per month would be given for upto 36 months.Such campaigns, he said, were aimed at stemming the anger and distress brewing among the youth and other sections of the society, who were extremely disgruntled under the present dispensation in the state.Captain Amarinder said he was encouraged by the farm debt waiver campaign launched earlier. That campaign had led to the registration of 22 lakh verified forms, while the Captain Smart Connect had seen 15 lakh registrations.He exhorted the prospective candidates to start the registration process from the bottom of the economic ladder, targeting first the state’s poorest of the poor.Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Senior Vice President Laal Singh said the people had faith in Captain Amarinder, for whom this is a dream campaign. Designed on the basis of Captain’s innovative thinking, the campaign is his personal dream, aimed at the uplift of the youth of the state, who have been totally alienated under the Badal rule.Laal Singh urged the party leaders and workers to complete the registration fast so that the campaign is not interrupted by the implementation of the Code of Conduct.He called upon the prospective candidates and workers to put their best efforts into making this revolutionary campaign from Captain Amarinder a resounding success, just as the 'Karza Kudki Khatam, Fasal Di Poori Rakam' campaign had turned out to be.