Opposition fumes over Gangwar's North India remark

Santosh Gangwar said he knew that there was no ''dearth'' of jobs in the country and had been told by companies that they do not get qualified people in north India

Within days of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman blaming Uber and Ola for declining sales of cars in the country, Union Minister for Labour Santosh Gangwar attributed rising unemployment levels to the shortage of qualified youths in north India, triggering sharp reactions from the opposition parties.

The Congress and the BSP strongly condemned the remarks and demanded that the minister tendered an apology to the people of the country.

''There is no dearth of jobs in the country....the jobs are plenty but there is a shortage of qualified youths in north India,'' Gangwar said while speaking at a function in his Lok Sabha constituency of Bareilly, about 250 kilometres from here, on Saturday.

The minister's remarks came while he was highlighting the works done by the centre in its one hundred days in office.

He said that as Minister for Labour and Employment he knew that there was no ''dearth'' of jobs in the country. ''I have been told by the companies that they do not get qualified people in north India,'' Gangwar said.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the minister for the remarks. ''Blaming the people of north India for unemployment in the country will not do....you (minister) have been in power...no new jobs were generated and the old ones were lost owing to your government's policies,'' she said in a message on her Twitter handle.

BSP supremo Mayawati also condemned the remarks and sought an apology from the minister. ''It is an insult to the people....the minister should tender an apology to the nation,'' she said.