New Delhi:
Cabinet Minister Ashish Singh Patel, who is facing allegations of corruption in promotion to the post of Head of Department in Polytechnics of Uttar Pradesh, has termed these allegations as political character assassination. He has demanded a CBI investigation into the allegations of corruption. He says that if Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wants, he can get the work done during his tenure done by CBI. Ashish has also made a shocking allegation against his own government. On Tuesday, Ashish wrote on the social media platform The matter has been said. These allegations of his seem to indicate that relations between BJP and Apna Dal (S) in Uttar Pradesh are no longer normal.
Sister-in-law had accused brother-in-law
SP’s rebel MLA Pallavi Patel had recently alleged that the Technical Education Department had filled 177 posts of heads of departments in polytechnics through promotion. He said that there were irregularities in promotion and promotions were given by ignoring the reservation of backward classes. He also alleged that there was transaction of money in these appointments. Pallavi Patel also staged a dharna in the winter session of UP Assembly regarding these allegations. Was. A cabinet minister of the Uttar Pradesh government had ended their protest. Pallavi Patel is Ashish’s sister-in-law. Pallavi is not alone in alleging corruption and non-following of reservation rules in these appointments. Along with Pallavi, three BJP MLAs have also made the same allegations against Ashish Singh Patel. These BJP MLAs who have accused Ashish are Balrampur Sadar MLA Paltu Ram, Bulandshahr’s Khurja MLA Meenakshi Singh and Bulandshahr’s Sayana MLA Devendra Singh Lodhi.
Rebel SP MLA Pallavi Patel protesting in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly complex.
Minister’s pain
Ashish Singh Patel expressed his views on this controversy on social media on the last day of the year. He wrote, “Despite the promotion being done on the basis of the recommendation of the Departmental Promotion Committee headed by M Devraj, the most honest IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh and the then Principal Secretary, Technical Education, and the consent at the top level, there is a continuous media trial for political character assassination.” This is unacceptable.” He has said that the State Information Director should step forward and stop this game of lies, deceit and media trials. If this departmental promotion is wrong then the Information Department should give clarification.
Despite the promotion being done on the basis of the recommendation of the Departmental Promotion Committee headed by Shri M. Devraj, the most honest IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh and the then Principal Secretary, Technical Education, and the consent at the top level, the continuous media trial for political character assassination is unacceptable.… pic.twitter.com/I5VFybtzam
— Ashish Patel (@ErAshishSPatel) December 31, 2024
He has written that if the Honorable Chief Minister deems it appropriate, then in order to put a permanent end to this vicious attempt to assassinate my political character through repeated media trials, lies and deceit, all the decisions taken by me so far as a minister will be cancelled. CBI can investigate.” He has also appealed to get his and his wife Union Minister Anupriya Patel’s property investigated. He has also given some documents along with his post. In two of these, details of the social background of the officers appointed in the Technical Education Department before becoming ministers are given. Through this, Ashish has tried to refute the allegations that are being leveled against him for denying the rights of Dalits and backward classes. He has said that Apna Dal (S)’s fight for social justice will not stop with false facts, rumors and media trials. We will continue to raise the voice of social justice with more force than ever before.
Along with this, Ashish has written, “A special thing for my well-wishers that if any kind of conspiracy or accident happens to me in this fight for social justice, then the entire responsibility for it will be on the Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh Police.”
Relations of Apna Dal(S) and BJP
Neither BJP nor the government has given any clarification on the allegations against Ashish. But these statements of Ashish have made it clear that everything is not going well in the NDA in Uttar Pradesh. If things were going well then no cabinet minister would have expressed apprehension of anything untoward happening to him. Ashish says that the government is not giving him security. He has demanded security many times before. He says that everyone knows how STF works. Therefore, it is written that if there is an accident or conspiracy, STF will be responsible for it. Earlier on December 16, Ashish Patel had said that the day PM Narendra Modi orders, I will resign in a second.
This is not the first time that Apna Dal (S) and BJP are at loggerheads. It started right after the Lok Sabha elections. Apna Dal (S) leader Anupriya Patel had also blamed the irregularities in the recruitment of 69 thousand teachers for the NDA’s defeat in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections. He wrote a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on June 27. In this he had alleged that the reservation rules of SC-ST and OBC are not being followed in the recruitment being done in government departments. BJP had rejected Anupriya’s allegations. But the ongoing tussle between Apna Dal (S) and BJP had not ended. Once again this has come to the fore.
Strength of Apna Dal (S) in UP
Apna Dal (S) has 13 MLAs, one Legislative Council member and one Lok Sabha member in Uttar Pradesh. Apna Dal’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections was not very good. The two seats which Apna Dal (S) got in the agreement. Among them, party chief Anupriya Patel was the candidate in Mirzapur. He had won with great difficulty. In the other seat, Robertsganj, his candidate Rinki Kol had to face defeat. Samajwadi Party had won most of the Kurmi dominated seats in the state. This also soured the relationship between BJP and Apna Dal (S). This bitterness has not ended even seven months after the elections. This is coming to light gradually. If this bitterness continues like this, then both these parties may have to suffer losses in the assembly elections to be held in 2027.
Also read: Government gave gift to farmers on the first day of the year, increased subsidy on DAP
