Slamming the UPA government for "neglecting the youth" in India, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi took a dig at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi who has said he wants the next government to be run by the youth.
"Some people are trying to gain power by using the youth, while I want to empower the youth," said Modi, while delivering a convocation address at a Gujarat-government promoted Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU) in Gandhinagar.
"It's very sad to see into whose hands we have given our future. If things continue like this, one day the youth will not get place even on the footpaths of the cities."
He accused the Congress-led UPA government of doing nothing for the youth of the country.
Modi said in its six-year rule, the NDA government headed by prime minister AB Vajpayee had created six crore jobs for the youth, while the UPA government was in its ninth year and had created only 1.47 crore jobs.
Modi said the UPA government had not focussed on skill development of the youth, while his government would have a budget of Rs 800 crore only for providing skills to the youngsters as against the UPA's budget of Rs 1,000 crore for the entire country.
{{/usCountry}}Modi said the UPA government had not focussed on skill development of the youth, while his government would have a budget of Rs 800 crore only for providing skills to the youngsters as against the UPA's budget of Rs 1,000 crore for the entire country.
{{/usCountry}}Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh Ambani, who is also chairman of the PDPU board, and British Petroleum group chief executive Bob Dudley were also present at the convocation ceremony.
Addressing the students, Ambani described Modi as an "inspiration for the youth in the country."