Attacking the Mayawati-led government for "misuse" of Central funds, Rahul Gandhi today pitched for a change in politics in Uttar Pradesh by involving youth and focusing on job creation and poverty alleviation.

Flagging off the 'Chetna' (awareness) Yatra here to mark 125 years of party's establishment, Gandhi said Congress will change the face of Uttar Pradesh by creating jobs for the youth of the state, where the BSP government has been "neglecting" development issues forcing people to migrate to cities like Mumbai.

"The Central government has provided various tools of development in the form of MGNREGA, and schemes for eduction and health. However, the UP government claims that schemes like MGNREGA are of no use. There is no need for education and health," he said addressing a rally here.

He wondered why people from the state were migrating to cities like Mumbai when the BSP says it has a pro-poor government.

"The BSP government was turning its back on pro-poor schemes and still claims to be a pro-poor government. How can this be possible?" Gandhi, who was allegedly denied permission to garland Ambedkar's statue here, asked.

"Money for development projects reaches Lucknow but Ambedkar Nagar and other districts of the state (are not developed)... Money has been given to the UP government for schemes like MGNREGA, RTE and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, but no one knows what happens to this money," he said.

Gandhi alleged that he had got a Central package worth crores of rupees for Bundelkhand but nobody in the region has seen its benefits.

Gandhi also attacked Mayawati for criticising his visits to Dalit homes, saying it does not go down well with her as she feels threatened by it.

The Congress general secretary said that the politics of religion and caste have failed in UP and there was a need to usher in a new way of politics targeted at the youth.

"In the times to come, UP has to answer how to tackle unemployment and poverty in the state. Politics in the state will now revolve around this question," he said.

Meanwhile, UP chief minister went after her detractors on the Dalit-icons' statue issue saying that the it was the opposition's anti-Dalit, anti-Ambedkar mentality that led then to criticizing her parks and monuments.

Throwing an open challenge to her detractors, she said on Wednesday that her party and government would not get bogged down by the opposition criticism of memorials and parks built in memory of Dalit leaders.

"The anti-Dalit and anti-Ambedkar mentality of opposition parties can be seen today in the stiff opposition to the BSP, which follows Ambedkar's ideology," she said, adding "it was because of this that the issue of memorials and parks was under severe criticism and was also dragged to courts."

In her brief address after paying floral tributes to B R Ambedkar on his 119th birth anniversary, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said, "Neither the BSP nor my government will bow down even a bit to the criticism of opposition parties on the memorials and parks set up in honour of these great men and will leave no stone unturned to provide them due respect."

Speaking at the sprawling Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal in Lucknow, one of the dream projects of her government for which she had faced flak, Mayawati was critical of successive central governments specially the Congress for "ignoring" great men belonging to Dalit and backward castes.

"It was the anti-Dalit mentality which stopped the successive Congress and BJP governments from giving due respect to these saints and greatmen", she said, terming the Congress role as "condemnable".

Stressing that it was the anti-Dalit mentality because of which Ambedkar was denied Bharat Ratna by the successive central governments, she said it was only when the BSP entered Parliament for the first time in 1990 that this "folly" was rectified.

"Had the successive Central governments taken care to give due respect to the great men belonging to Dalit and backward castes, I would not have to do so," she said.

The BSP president, who is scheduled to make an aerial survey of the dharnas being staged by her party all over the state today against Women's Reservation Bill, said though her party was not against the measure, it would not serve any purpose without a separate quota for the Dalit, backward, minorities and poor among the upper castes."

Mayawati said Ambedkar too had similar views on the subject.

BSP leaders and workers gathered at the spot raised slogans against those opposing construction of memorials and parks for Dalit leaders.