Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday on Thursday but at the same time their party also launched a scathing attack on the PM over the growing unemployment in India and held protests over the issue at several places across the country.

The Congress celebrated the day as ‘National Unemployment Day’ to highlight the jobs lost since the COVID-19 struck the country earlier this year.

Youth Congress workers in Bhopal demonstrated by frying fritters and holding banners such as ‘I am a young unemployed’. In the national capital, party workers waved huge banners with Modi’s image and mentioning ‘Berojgar Divas’.

“Massive unemployment has forced the youth to call today #NationalUnemploymentDay. Employment is dignity. For how long will the Govt deny it?,” Rahul, who is currently out of the country for treatment of his mother and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, tweeted.

Priyanka said the youth of the country wants that the Government must hold exams for Government jobs on time and the results should be declared in a fix time frame.

She added that the Government must create more job opprtunities and if the Centre will fail to address the concerns of the youth then they will change the Government.

But Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala made certain derogatory remarks against the PM likening him to monkeys. Surjewala tweeted from his official Twitter handle, “Aab Ki Baar Bandar Ke Hath Me Ustra Sarkar.” 

This is not the first time that the Congress has made derogatory statements against PM Modi. Congress leader Arjun Modwadia had also once compared Modi to a monkey.