Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday questioned the announcement by the Centre to recruit 10 lakh people in the next one-and-half years and asked whether it is not an "election mirage".

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister claimed that far more posts reserved for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes are lying vacant for years.

"Due to wrong policies and working style of the Centre, poverty, inflation, unemployment and devaluation of the Rupee are at an all-time high."

"Because of this all (people) are feeling worried and restless. Now, the Centre in the next one-and-half years, before the Lok Sabha election, has announced 10 lakh recruitments. Is it not an election mirage (chhalavaa)?" Mayawati said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

Her reaction came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked various government departments and ministries to undertake the recruitment of 10 lakh people on a "mission mode" in the next 18 months.

"The posts in the government meant for the SCs, STs and OBCs lying vacant for years are much more," she said.

"The BSP has been demanding both inside and outside Parliamentthat these vacancies be filled by running a special drive. The government is silent about it and this section of the society is affected the most by poverty and unemployment," the BSP chief.

The direction from Modi came following a review of the status of human resources in all government departments and ministries, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Tuesday.

The next general election is due to be held in April-May in 2024.

"PM Narendra Modi reviewed the status of Human Resources in all departments and ministries and instructed that recruitment of 10 lakh people be done by the Government in a mission mode in the next 1.5 years," the PMO said in a tweet.

Government sources said various departments and ministries were asked to prepare details of vacancies following Modi's direction to this effect and the decision on recruitment was taken following an overall review.

During various Assembly polls, opposition parties have tried to corner the BJP over the issue of unemployment, but the saffron party has been successful in neutralising the criticism with its planks of welfarism, development and Hindutva.

It has also consistently refuted the opposition's charge on unemployment, arguing that its various programmes have led to a rise in entrepreneurship and overall employment generation.