Shocker: Andhra minister berates unemployed youth with 'animal-grass; dog-biscuit' analogy

Dharmana Krishna Das, the Andhra Pradesh Minister of Roads and Building made a bizarre statement at an event on Saturday. While addressing a job festival in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam he said that the youth of the state was ungrateful despite being provided opportunities to gain employment. 

'If you give a biscuit to a dog, it will be thankful'

The minister compared the youth to animals and said, "If one feeds an animal with grass, it will be thankful. If you give a biscuit to a dog, it will be thankful. If one person gets help, he will be thankful. Even when our good chief minister has provided such a good opportunity (job mela), your hands are not raising to clap. It is not correct." 

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'We do not want anything in return, except appreciation'

The minister further appealed to the youth to change their attitude and asked them to change their thought processes. "What does a truthful leader need? Appreciation and claps from you. Be it for me or for the chief minister. We do not expect anything. We do not want anything in return, except appreciation," the Minister said. 

The minister was speaking at the 'Mega Job Mela' organised by the state government to provide job opportunities to the youth of the state. The crowd even included parents of the youth. 

According to a report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a little over one-fourth of the graduates and postgraduates across Andhra Pradesh is unemployed. The state has 17,25,000 uneducated population aged between 16 and 64 years and 6,78,000 of them are seen as capable of employment. The percentage of the total unemployed people is as high as 26.68 in the state. On October 29, P. Venkateswarlu a plumber allegedly committed suicide after hanging himself at his house. According to sources, P. Venkateswarlu took the step because he could not find work. 

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