Another minister Raj Kishore Singh, facing charges of land grabbing, was also axed. The peculiarly plucky move is seen as part of the young CM's desperate efforts at a image makeover before the 2017 UP Assembly election.
In a totally unexpected and rather bold move on Monday, UP CM Akhilesh Yadav sacked Mining Minister Gayatri Prajapati in view of the recent Allahabad High Court order for a CBI probe into alleged illegal mining in the state.
Another minister Raj Kishore Singh, facing charges of land grabbing, was also axed. The peculiarly plucky move is seen as part of the young CM's desperate efforts at a image makeover before the 2017 UP Assembly election.
Known as UP's "richest minister", Prajapati has been facing allegations of corruption, and the CBI is reported to be preparing to arrest him soon. The minister is alleged to be patronizing illegal mining running into thousands of crores. Prajapati who had declared a net worth of Rs 1.81 cr at the time of the 2012 state election, now has assets of over Rs 942 crore according to a petition pending before the High Court. Prajapati has allegedly formed seven shell companies for laundering the huge underhand benefits he had cornered.
"This is a step taken merely to save the skin of top-notch people in the party and the government," said social activist Nutan Thakur who has filed the PIL for a CBI inquiry into Prajapati's assets.
Recently, the High Court had rejected the state government's plea to withdraw an order for a CBI probe into alleged illegal mining in the state. The opposition, however, alleged that the sacking of the minister was just an eyewash to hide the corruption in mining sector.
"Illegal mining is rampant in the state and it is an open secret that he was promoting it. Now when the HC has taken serious view of the matter and ordered CBI probe, the CM's decision is mere an eyewash. It will not help as people know the reality," Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi said.
"Our party has been raising the matter of illegal mining in the state for long. The decision should have been taken much earlier," said BJP state general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak, adding that now it only looked like a pre-election gimmick.
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