UP's backwardness biggest impediment to India's growth: Sibal

Gorakhpur, Apr 30 (UNI) Congress spokesperson and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal today said the backwardness of Uttar Pradesh was the biggest impediment in the country's development.

Addressing a news conference here, Mr Sibal held the non-Congress governments responsible for the backwardness in UP.

''About 31 per cent of UP's population is living below the poverty line and the state is under heavy debt,'' he underlined.

Mr Sibal said the health services were lying in tatters in the state. ''In 2005, 6,000 persons were suffering from brain fever, mostly in eastern UP.'' He claimed that four lakh doses of brain fever vaccine were provided by the Centre, but it was not utilised by the state government.

Lambasting the Samajwadi Party-led regime, the Congress leader said power situation was pathetic in UP, a far cry from the native place of chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav 'Saifai', where ''celebrations are abounty.'' Flaying BSP chief Mayawati, he said the existence of the party would cease along with her.

''She claims to be a messiah of dalits, but was silent when atrocities were being committed on the community,'' he added.

Mr Sibal also condemned the lathicharge on Congress workers at Deoria district on Saturday.

''Congress has given a new generation of leadership to the state...the fight for UP's transformation would be spearheaded by youth only,'' he maintained.

UNI