Uttar Pradesh minister Dinesh Khatik resigned and later said he would work for his department. The minister alleged that he was being ignored by officials as he is Dalit and alleged corruption in his department.
Uttar Pradesh minister Dinesh Khatik resigned alleging that he was sidelined by officials for being a Dalit, in a move that exposed the power tussle between bureaucrats and ministers in the state
Dinesh Khatik, Minister of State for Jal Shakti department, sent a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah stating the officials in his department do not listen to him. A day later, he met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow and BJP chief JP Nadda in Delhi and gave a statement that he would continue to work in his department.
Even though it appears that a crisis has been averted, this is not the first time a minister in the UP government flagged similar concerns. There have been allegations of non-compliance with the transfer policy and other irregularities in many departments.
Coming to the PWD ministry, the UP government acted against five senior officials, including Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Anil Pandey, over alleged irregularities in the PWD department. Minister Jitin Prasada has claimed that action has already been taken against officials found guilty and they have been removed.
Similarly, things are not too well between excise minister Nitin Agarwal and Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Bhoosreddy, who returned to UP from the deputation of the Central government.
The official reportedly has complete control over the excise department. He overturns several orders of department minister Nitin Agarwal. Sources in the excise department said that Bhoosreddy had raised questions regarding many matters of the minister.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked all ministers to work in coordination and “keep an eye on officials in their respective departments”.
Hitting out at the state government over the functioning of the government and tussles between bureaucrats and ministers, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed the government’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy against corruption had been exposed.
SP leader Anurag Bhadauria said the government talks about transparent governance but their own officers are not listening to the ministers. Meanwhile, UP Congress spokesperson, Surendra Rajput, alleged those ministers who are not getting the benefits of corruption are angry.
Political Analyst Pramod Goswami told India Today that the coordination between bureaucracy and ministers has always been a major concern for governance in Uttar Pradesh. Decentralisation of power and accountability of officers must be ensured by the ministers, he added.
He claimed that more ministers will eventually come out against officials as there have been issues between ministers and bureaucracy for a long time now.
manish kumar
