Govt shouldn`t dole out sops, take steps to provide employment: Uma

New Delhi: Against the brackdrop Food Security Act, BJP Vice President Uma Bharati on Thursday said government shouldn`t just dole out sops to people but ensure they get employment opportunities.

"Often, government and politicians claim that they had waived loans of farmers, distributed gifts and launched schemes for people. They shouldn`t take people as paupers to whom they dole out sops," she said while speaking at a function to commemorate birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhayay here. The politicians should change their thinking that they are the ones who can change the lives of the poor by doling out sops, she suggested, adding their aim should be to improve the quality of life of the poor. "People want bread but they also want self respect and instead of doling out sops, the governments should generate employment opportunities so that people get back their self respect," Bharati said. Later speaking to reporters, she questioned the need for dialogue between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif when terrorists attacked an army camp in Jammu. "It`s true that a solution to any problem could be reached through dialogue but there has to be an appropriate time and environment. We can`t hold talks when terrorists, who are in control of Pakistan, are attacking our territory and killing the innocent," she said, adding "haath aur baat ek saath nahi chal sakte (attack and talks can`t go simultaneously)". PTI