New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS): The Congress on Friday launched 'Bharti Vidhan', the party's youth manifesto for Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly polls, saying that the vision document focusses on providing employment to the youth of the state.

The manifesto, which promises 20 lakh jobs, including 9 lakh jobs for women, was released by party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.

"Congress Party believes that progress is founded on a good education. It pledges to significantly increase funding for primary, secondary, and higher education and to make every effort to correct systemic disparities. It will unshackle the immense potential of the state to provide opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship to the youth," says the manifesto which runs into 20 pages.

"New avenues will be created with a focus on manufacturing clusters, the creative industry,

technological innovation, and by providing robust support for local & traditional handicrafts and small businesses. The power of young people, their freedom, self-expression, passion, vitality, creativity, and determination are the driving forces of a nation," the manifesto says, adding that the Congress Party pledges to create an environment that allows these dreams to fly so that the young women and men of Uttar Pradesh move towards a hopeful and promising future.

Besides, the party has promised 20 lakh government jobs, which includes filling up of 1.5 lakh vacant teachers' posts in the primary education sector and 1 lakh vacant principals' posts in the basic education sector. The 38,000 vacant teachers' posts in the secondary education sector shall also be filled along with 8,000 vacant teachers' posts in higher education and colleges.

The party said a mass recruitment drive shall be conducted throughout the state to fulfil the student-teacher ratio as laid out by the Right to Education Act.

Attacking the BJP-led UP government, the Congress said: "The current government's appallingly negligent approach towards this critical aspect of our contemporary economy, its policy of selling off profitable public assets and its leniency towards corruption in the recruitment process and the conduct of recruitment tests has progressively crushed the hopes of lakhs of young people. The young people of Uttar Pradesh have thus lost faith in the very system that is responsible for assuring their futures. "