Opposition pans UP govt as it assigns probe in teachers' recruitment to STF

Mayawati demands CBI probe, Priyanka Vadra terms it as UP's Vyapam scam

A day after the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court reserved its order in the case of appointment of 69,000 assistant basic teachers in Uttar Pradesh, the Adityanath government Tuesday instituted an inquiry by the Special Task Force (STF) of the UP Police in the entire episode.

Monday, a two-judge HC bench comprising Justices P K Jaiswal and D K Singh had concluded the hearing and reserved its order on the petition filed by the UP government challenging the June 3 order of HC judge Alok Mathur, who had stayed the teachers’ selection process and found merit in the argument seeking a fresh scrutiny by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

On behalf of the UP government, the petition was filed by the Examination Regularity Authority (ERA) contenting that the single judge bench order was unwarranted and illegal.

However, the opposition has already cornered the Adityanath government in the episode with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra terming it as the ‘Vyapam scam’ of UP, while Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati demanded a CBI probe to bring out the truth and punish the guilty.

Addressing a news conference here, UP basic education minister Satish Dwivedi alleged that vested political interests were behind the ‘conspiracy’ to derail the recruitment process and play with the future of the youth by leveling baseless allegations and charges.

“The Yogi government is working on the principle of ‘zero tolerance’ against corruption. Therefore, we have instituted an inquiry by the STF to probe the allegations and punish the guilty if any,” he added.

He said the test for the teachers was conducted on January 6, 2019 and the counseling for the final selection was scheduled during June 3-6, but the same has now been halted pending the court case.

“The process of recruitment conforms to the standing guidelines set by the courts pertaining to the preparation of the merit list and reservations. However, the opponents are trying to sabotage the process to sully the image of the Yogi Adityanath government, especially at a time when the state has been earning laurels for its effective management of the covid-19 pandemic situation,” Dwivedi added.

Meanwhile, more than 10 persons had earlier been arrested by the police for their alleged role in extorting money from candidates and promising them the job of the assistant basic teachers in the state.

“The STF probe will also examine if this gang had any role to play in this process and to identify any candidate benefitting out of their nexus,” the minister underlined.

He said the police were also investigating another case in which several decoy teachers have been found working as teachers in the state run Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya at the district level under the purported pseudonym of Anamika Shukla.