Lucknow: Two ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government are facing the heat over transfers in their respective departments.
Jitin Prasada, who heads the PWD department, and deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak, who heads the health department, have been in the eye of storm over alleged irregularities in transfers.
The chief minister set up a probe following allegations and Jitin Prasada’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Anil Kumar Pandey, has been transferred while five others have been suspended following allegations of irregularities and corruption in PWD department of the state government.
An inquiry found his OSD Anil Kumar Pandey directly responsible for irregularities in transfers in the department, raising several questions as Pandey was handpicked by Prasada.
Pandey has worked with Jitin Prasada in the past while he was a Union minister in UPA government and was brought to Lucknow on deputation.
Jitin Prasada is said to have met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and offered his clarifications. He is likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday.
He is not talking to the media and neither responding to calls.
Earlier, the Yogi Adityanath government faced considerable embarrassment when deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak had himself raised questions in transfers in his department of Health and Medical Education.
In a major move, the minister had even written a letter to his own department’s top officials, seeking answers.
Apparently, Pathak had signed the files approving the transfers ‘in a hurry’ without going through it.
The matter is still under investigation.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has now directed all his ministers to read the files properly before signing them.
