The Union minister asked the BSP-led Mayawati dispensation in UP to issue a white paper on funds released by the Centre in the past three years and its utilisation by the state government.
Rubbishing the BSP's allegation that the UPA government at the Centre was neglecting Uttar Pradesh, Union minister Sachin Pilot today said on the contrary, it had released funds amounting to several thousand crore rupees for development of the state.
The young Congress leader asked the BSP-led Mayawati dispensation in UP to issue a white paper on funds released by the Centre in the past three years and its utilisation by the state government.
"Instead of levelling allegations, the BSP government should issue a white paper on how much fund the Centre has released to the state in the last three years.
"It should also tell people where all this money was spent," Pilot, here to attend a party function in Unnao, said.
The BSP has launched an agitation in Uttar Pradesh to protest what it alleged the step-motherly treatment meted out to its government by the UPA dispensation.
Pilot said the UPA government had released funds to the tune of several thousand crore rupees for development of the state and for creation of more employment opportunities.
"People want to know whether the funds were not swallowed by the elephant (election symbol of the BSP)," he said sarcastically.
The Union minister of state for communication and IT said not only the BSP, but other political parties, including the BJP and the SP, which had ruled the state should also issue white papers on the work carried out during their regimes.
"It is a misfortune of the state that the opposition parties always indulge in Congress bashing to gain power and have divided the state on caste and community lines," he said.
Terming the 2012 UP assembly polls as crucial, Pilot said thanks to efforts of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi the party would be able to unite the youths and defeat politics of caste and religion in the state.
"We will make a comeback in UP," he said.
Referring to party's performance in the state during the Lok Sabha elections when it won 22 out of 80 seats, Pilot said the result was a clear indicator that the Congress' base had strengthened in the state.
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