UP Dy CM Keshav Maurya fires fresh salvo at Yogi over govt job reservation

Lucknow: Within days of his veiled attack on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath at the state BJP executive committee meeting over latter's alleged neglect of the party organisation, senior saffron party leader and deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya fired yet another salvo at Adityanath over reservation in contractual appointments made in different department by the state government.

Maurya has shot off a letter to additional chief secretary (Department of Appointments and Personnel) Devesh Chaturvedi seeking to know from him if the provisions of reservations for the SC, ST and OBC were followed in making contractual appointments in different government departments and undertakings in accordance with the GO (government order) issued in this regard during the Maywati government.

In his letter Maurya also raised the alleged discrepancies in providing reservation in the recruitment of 69 thousand teachers.

Interestingly the department of appointments and personnel was under Adityanath.

Maurya said that he had sought this information from the concerned department last year but since it was not provided to him even after so many months he had again written to the department for providing the information.

The then Mayawati government had issued a GO providing 21 percent reservation for the SC, Two percent for the ST and 27 percent for the OBC in contractual appointments in the government departments.

Maurya's letter comes days after union minister and Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel had written to Adityanath expressing concern over what she claimed appointing candidates from general category on reserved posts in the event of non-availability of suitable reserved candidates. The state government denied the claim and said that all such reserved posts were not converted into unreserved if suitable reserved category candidates were not available.

Maurya's letter has also provided a major issue to the opposition parties which are certain to corner the state government over the issue.

Barely a few days back, speaking at the state BJP meeting, Maurya had said that the organisation (BJP) was always above the government and that everyone should know it. ‘’Sangathan sarkar se bada tha, bada hai aur bada rahega” (party organization was above the government, is above the government and will always remain above), he remarked amid cheers from the BJP workers who were present there.

The deputy CM also sought to convey the message that party workers were not being accorded due respect in the Adityanath government and this was also one of the reasons behind the poor performance of the party in the state in the LS polls.

Maurya’s remarks were perceived to be aimed at Adityanath, who, in his address, sought to drive home the message that the government was above the organization.

Earlier also Maurya had made his displeasure over Adityanath’s style of functioning known to the central leadership of the saffron party. He had also maintained distance from the meetings convened by the chief minister.