Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday said the Congress had always pursued vote-bank politics and used the poor, backward classes and Scheduled Castes merely for political gains. Referring to former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, he said a leader who had stood firmly with the Punjab Congress during difficult times was now being sidelined by his own party. In a way, the Congress has insulted Dalits and other deprived sections of society. It is unfortunate, he added.The chief minister was interacting with mediapersons at Haryana Niwas.Responding to a question on the NEET paper leak case, Saini said the Union Government had taken decisive action, while the Congress and the INDIA bloc had consistently sought to mislead the youth on the issue. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated his entire life to the welfare of every section of society and continues to work tirelessly in the service of the nation, with safeguarding the future of the country’s youth among his foremost priorities.He said the Centre had enacted stringent laws to deal with paper leak cases, ensured strict action against those responsible and made the recruitment process fully transparent.PM Modi treated the issue with utmost seriousness and made it unequivocally clear that anyone attempting to jeopardise the future of the country’s youth would not be spared, he said.No one has the right to play with the aspirations and future of young people, he said.Saini said today’s generation had not witnessed the conditions that prevailed during the Congress regime. Recruitment processes lacked transparency and candidates often had to travel on the roofs of buses merely to appear for examinations, he said.Even when question papers were leaked, there was hardly any accountability, leaving young aspirants to bear the consequences. He said that the Congress had ignored the future of the youth for years in pursuit of vote-bank politics. The people of the country, he added, now understood the politics of the Congress and the INDIA alliance and would no longer be misled by them, said the CM.Replying to a question on the Punjab Assembly’s resolution condemning paper leaks, the CM questioned whether the Punjab Government had adopted a similar resolution over the recent pharmacy examination paper leak in the state.Referring to the recently declared recruitment examination results in Punjab, he said the names of several successful candidates had themselves raised serious questions and reflected the concerns being expressed by the state’s youth over the fairness of the recruitment process.The chief minister said the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party should answer the youth on issues relating to recruitment examinations.Recalling an earlier statement by AAP leader Manish Sisodia that the Punjab Education Minister would resign if a paper leak occurred in the state, he said the silence over recent incidents clearly exposed the gap between the party’s words and actions.He further said that Rahul Gandhi should first explain what the Congress had done for the country’s youth during its years in power.Responding to a question on the time taken to complete recruitment processes, the chief minister said certain elements in the state were actively working as part of what he described as the “Bharti Roko Gang.” He said such vested interests repeatedly attempted to obstruct transparent recruitment by creating unnecessary hurdles. However, he asserted that the government would not allow any conspiracy to derail a fair, transparent and merit-based recruitment process.Replying to another question, Saini said that during the Congress government, the prevailing approach towards sportspersons was summed up by the phrase “Padak Lao, Pad Pao.” He added that if the sports policy pursued during the tenure of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had indeed been as effective as claimed, Haryana and the country would have produced record-breaking medal performances even then. Instead, he said, it was under the present government that sportspersons were receiving recognition and encouragement purely based on their talent and achievements.The CM said the state government would soon organise a felicitation ceremony to honour Haryana’s medal winners at the Commonwealth Games. He said Haryana’s impressive medal tally was the outcome of the State’s progressive sports policy. More than 2,000 sports nurseries were currently nurturing talent across Haryana, ensuring that young athletes received training and support from the grassroots level.