Jobs aplenty but companies say North Indians lack skill: Santosh Gangwar

NEW DELHI: Union minister Santosh Gangwar has sparked a controversy with his statement that there is no dearth of job opportunities in India and recruiters complain of paucity of “quality people” in the northern part of the country.


“Hamaare Uttar Bharat mein jo log bhi recruitment karne aate hai, woh iss baat kaa sawaal kar dete hai ki jis pad ke liye hum rakh rahe hai, us quality ka vyakti humko kam milta hai (Recruiters who visit north India complain of dearth of quality people for the posts that they need to fill),”

Gangwar

said on Saturday.

He added, “There is no dearth of job opportunities in the country. I have felt that even after getting employed, a person still gets himself registered with the employment exchange in search of better opportunities.” Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday accused Gangwar, minister of state for labour and employment, of insulting north Indians.

“Mr Minister, it has been more than five years for your government. There is no job creation. Whatever jobs were there, they have been snatched due to the economic slowdown brought by the government. You want to escape by insulting north Indians,” she said on Twitter, adding that the youth expected the government to do something good for them.

BSP chief Mayawati said such comments were laughable. “After the different laughable statements by different Union ministers on the economic slowdown, instead of removing unemployment, now it is being said that there is no shortage of jobs, but of competence, especially among north Indians. This is extremely shameful and an apology should be tendered to the nation,” she tweeted.

“I never said north Indians lack qualification. My statement was distorted in a section of media,” Gangwar told TOI on Sunday.