Akhilesh first sacks 82 MoS rank holders, then spares 16

The Uttar Pradesh government late Saturday revised its earlier order sacking 82 people holding minister-of-state (MoS) rank, including advisors and chairmen of various corporations.

A communique from the Chief Minister's Office, sent "unofficially" to the media said 16 people had been spared in the crackdown by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

These included N.C. Bajpayi (deputy chairman, State Planning Commission), poet Gopal Das Neeraj (chairman, Hindi Bhasha Sansthan), former party MP Uday Pratap Singh (chairman, Hindi Academy), Sunil Jogi (Chairman, Hindustani Academy, Allahabad), Tarkeshwar Mishra (Chairman, UP Agro), Javed Abdi (Chairman, UP Pollution Control Board).

Also spared were Farchand Ahmad (Advisor Technical Education), Brigadier R.D. Singh (Chairman, Retired Sainik Kalyan Nigam), Nawaz Deobandi (Chairman executive committee UP Urdu Academy), Chairmen of UP SC/ST Commission, UP Rajya Pchda Varg Aayog, UP State women commission, the state minority commission, Selection Board, Bharti Board and two others.

The cracking of the whip was long overdue as the party leadership had made up its mind to axe these people after the humiliating defeat of the party in the Lok Sabha election, said party insiders.

Official sources said all perks, privileges, cars, security paraphernalia and staff given to these people will be withdrawn soon.

Officials said the chief minister in consultation with Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav will soon announce some new appointments.

The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party welcomed the move and demanded that the tenure of these ministers be investigated threadbare.

"Now that the chief minister has booted them out, the BJP demands that their tenure be probed and the expenses made on them be made public," party spokesman Manoj Mishra said.