Lucknow, Sept. 8 -- Hitting out at the previous government, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday stated that eight years ago, they were unable to organise appointment letter distribution events because recruitment processes were consistently hindered and ultimately had to be stopped by courts. "Whether it is the recruitment of teachers, police, instructors or any other department, so much money was taken that they were not able to look any candidate in the eye," he said. "When someone resorts to dishonesty, they are unable to hold their head high. Before 2017, those in government had created such a dismal situation that the youth of Uttar Pradesh were left frustrated and disillusioned. And when the youth are disheartened, the economy inevitably suffers. But over the past eight- and a-half years, we've seen results. Today, there are jobs in both government and private sectors. There is now a shower of jobs in UP," he said. He made the remarks at an event at Lok Bhavan where appointment letters were distributed to 1510 newly selected instructors by the UP Subordinate Services Selection Commission. The chief minister distributed appointment letters to 11 newly selected instructors. He congratulated the instructors and parents selected through a fair and transparent recruitment process. UP has succeeded in providing government jobs to 8.5 lakh youths in the last eight years, he said. Every month, the appointment process has been successfully completed through some commission-board, he said. The chief minister remarked that eight years ago, Uttar Pradesh was burdened by two major negative perceptions about it. First, when young citizens from the state travelled outside, they often faced an identity crisis as they looked down upon, which instilled a deep sense of inferiority. Second, UP was labelled a 'sick state,' (Bimaru) seen as a hindrance to the nation's progress, despite being rich in resources and cultural heritage. "We have succeeded in making that state the number 2 economy in the last eight years. We have succeeded in making it the growth engine of India's development by uprooting the status of a sick state," he said. "Today UP is counted among the fastest growing states. UP has the highest rate of development in the country. UP is in the leading position in every field. The state, which was among the bottom five before 2017, is today number one in most schemes in the country," he said. "The youth associated with vocational education, skill development and entrepreneurship benefited the most . More than 60 lakh such people got jobs in 8 years. Among them, there are 14 lakh youth who took training through UP Skill Development," he said. Eight years ago, industries and ITIs were closing down, but now the government is running more than 300 ITI, he said. In eight years, 60 new ITIs were created at the government level and 3000 in the private sector, he said. "Today there are 96 lakh MSME units in UP. Investment proposals of more than Rs 15 lakh crore were implemented," he said. Instead of enthusiasm, there was fear among the people during festivals eight years ago, he said. "Today, there is a full moon. There will be a lunar eclipse at night. Ganpati festival and Barawafaat are just over, but there has been no riots or hooliganism anywhere....