Sacked UP ministers back

TNS & Agencies

Lucknow, September 26

Tainted former Uttar Pradesh Mines Minister Gayatri Prajapati was today reinducted into the Akhilesh Yadav Cabinet in an apparent attempt by SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav to bridge the widening chasm in his family, drawing instant flak from the Opposition.

The swearing-in of 10 ministers, including Gayatri Prajapati, Manoj Pandey and Shivakant Ojha, who were all sacked by the Chief Minister earlier, was conducted at Raj Bhawan by Governor Ram Naik. Of the 10, seven were accorded the Cabinet rank and three ministers of state.

Governor Ram Naik also administered the oath of office and secrecy to Ziauddin Rizvi, who was not able to take oath in June when the Cabinet was last expanded as he was abroad.

State minister Abhishek Mishra has been elevated as a Cabinet minister and is likely to be one of the Brahmin faces along with Manoj Pandey and Shivakant Ojha. Three MoS (Independent) Riaz Ahmed, Yasir Shah and Ravidas Mehtrotra, and MoS Abhishek Mishra, Narendra Verma and Shankhlal Majhi were elevated to Cabinet rank.

With the expansion, the number of ministers in the state government rose to 61, one more than the 60-minister ceiling, set in ratio of 15 per cent of the total Assembly strength. However, minutes later, Minister of State Laxmikant Nishad was sacked, bringing the head count of ministers back to 60.

The Akhilesh ministry now comprises 32 Cabinet ministers, 9 MoS (Independent) and 19 MoS. This was the eighth expansion of the government since it assumed office in 2012.

Raj Kishore Singh, who too was dropped along with Prajapati, was not included. Prajapati was considered close to Akhilesh’s uncle and state party chief Shivpal Yadav. Mulayam said he had recommended Prajapati’s name for re-induction and “the CM accepted it”. “Moreover, the backward class leader is a hardworking and loyal soldier of the party,” he said.

Mulayam’s cousin and Rajya Sabha member Ramgopal Yadav, who is close to Akhilesh, was conspicuous by his absence at Raj Bhawan. Hours after Prajapati re-joined Akhilesh’s team, Opposition parties reacted on expected lines with the BSP, the BJP and the Congress ridiculing the CM for his “sudden change of mind”. BSP supremo Mayawati said Akhilesh Yadav’s U-turn showed he was a “weak CM”.