New Delhi: A little more than a year after Jitin Prasada decided to jump ship from the Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Uttar Pradesh public works department minister is caught up in a string of allegations about irregularities in his ministry.
Prasada was made a member of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s cabinet soon after he switched over to the the BJP.
On Monday (July 18), Prasada’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Anil Kumar Pandey was removed after allegations that transfers within the PWD were being arranged after the exchange of money. In its order on the matter, the state government said complaints had been received against Pandey. “He is relieved of his duties and is going to be sent back to the Central government… a vigilance probe and disciplinary action is recommended against him,” it stated.
Pandey and Prasad have a longstanding relationship – they worked together in also while Prasada was a Union minister in the UPA government, and was taken to Lucknow on deputation.
On Tuesday, Adityanath ordered the suspension of five officials – including the PWD head of department – for their alleged involvement in the transfers for money.
According to the Indian Express, a government spokesperson said that action has been taken against engineer-in-chief (development) and HOD Manoj Kumar Gupta, chief engineer Rakesh Kumar Saxena, senior staff officer Shailendra Kumar Yadav, administrative officer Pankaj Dixit and head clerk Sanjay Kumar Chaurasia. “It was found that they were involved in irregularities and hence, they have been suspended,” an official was quoted as saying.
Adityanath had ordered a probe into the alleged irregularities on July 12, and the report was submitted on July 16. “Based on the recommendation of the probe report, action was taken,” the government spokesperson said.
“The matter is related to the transfer of engineers in the PWD. More than 150 transfers have been made, and changes of engineers’ divisions have been done in the last one month. These transfers seem to be arbitrary and some engineers were kept on the same post longer than the rules allow. Some engineers have also been granted postings in more than one division,” an official told the Indian Express.
According to News18, Prasada has already met Adityanath about the issue and is likely to meet Union home minister Amit Shah today.