Issue white paper on fund utilisation,Pilot tells BSP

“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,” said Pilot,who was in Unnao to attend a party function today. The BSP has launched an agitation in Uttar Pradesh to protest what it alleged as a step-motherly treatment meted out to its government by the UPA.

“People want to know whether the funds were not swallowed by the elephant,” Pilot said,while taking a dig at the BSP.

The Union Minister of State for Communication and IT said apart from the BSP,other parties like the BJP and the SP,should also issue white papers on the work carried out during their past regimes. “It is the state’s misfortune that Opposition parties always indulge in Congress bashing to gain power and divide the state on caste and community lines,” he said. Terming the 2012 UP Assembly polls as “crucial”,Pilot said courtesy the efforts of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi,the party would be able to unite the youths and defeat the politics of caste and religion in the state. “We will make a comeback in UP,” he said. Referring to the party’s performance during the Lok Sabha elections when it won 22 of the 80 seats,Pilot said the result was a clear indicator that the Congress’ base had strengthened in the state. pti