Union Minister Santosh Gangwar on Sunday made an unconvincing clarification over his 'north Indian candidates lack qualification, not job opportunities' remark.
Earlier on Saturday, Gangwar had claimed that there is no dearth of employment opportunities and said there is a lack of qualifications among north Indian candidates.
"I want to say that there is no dearth of job opportunities in the country. Those who come for recruitment in north India often complain that they are unable to find the quality in candidates required for the post they are hiring for," said Gangwar, MoS (Independent Charge), Ministry of Labour and Employment, while addressing a press conference in Bareilly on Saturday.
"I am looking after the same ministry and I monitor the situation on a daily basis. There is no dearth of employment in the country. We have employment exchanges for a purpose and we have also developed a separate system. Our ministry monitors the situation," the minister remarked.
Gangwar's remark triggered a controversy, with opposition leaders like Mayawati and Priyanka Gandhi criticising him over it.
However, when asked for a clarification over his statement, Gangwar said on Sunday, "What I had said was in a different context. I said that there is a lack of skill and our government has started the skill ministry and we are giving skill training to the youth. We are working in that direction."
Gangwar's statement came at a time when the economy slumped to a seven-year low of 5 per cent in April to June quarter from 8 per cent a year ago. The economic slowdown has raised concerns among economists and politicians who are holding the Centre responsible for it.
The slowdown was largely due to a sharp dip in the manufacturing sector and agriculture output, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had said in a statement.
( With inputs from ANI )