Only youth can revive UP's golden era: Rahul

Mirzapur, Apr 29 (UNI) Wooing youth voters, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi today reiterated that only youths were capable of reviving the golden era of Uttar Pradesh.

''It is unforunate that in UP, successive governments in the last 15 years have tied the hands of youths from developing the state.

This is despite the fact that they represent 60 per cent of the population,'' Mr Gandhi told a poll meeting here.

''UP youths are already playing a vital role in the development of Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Karnataka. The time has come when they ought to play a major role in UP too,'' the young Amethi MP said.

Assuring youths that he would continue to work for their cause even after the ongoing assembly poll, Mr Gandhi claimed his only aim at present is to save UP from further destruction. ''I am not in UP only to campaign for the Congress. But, I am in the state to constantly fight for the development of all.'' Inveighing against the Mulayam Singh Yadav regime, he claimed ''it is painful that UP has become a 'shelter' for history-sheeters.

In the last 15 years, the non-Congress governments have pushed the state three ages back. Even Mr Yadav has nothing to do with the development and is hand-in-glove with criminals.'' ''The non-Congress governments have only cases of loot, murders and rapes to present to the people. They are constantly engaged in dividing UP in the name of religion and caste. They always ditch people,'' he alleged.

Mr Gandhi said the UPA at the Centre never meted out a step-motherly treatment to UP.'' It always provided development funds worth lakhs to the Mulayam Singh Yadav regime. But sadly, the funds were either misutilised or not utilised at all.'' UNI