'Rebel' UP bureaucrats slam Mulayam's b'day bash

 The grand celebrations to observe the 77th birthday of Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav at his native village of Saifai this weekend have drawn flak from ‘rebel’ UP bureaucrats.

A senior IAS officer, who had earned the wrath of the Akhilesh Yadav government for attacking it over issues of alleged corruption, termed the celebrations as an ‘insult’ to the people of the state.

“It is an insult to the people....many districts of the state have been hit by drought but the government is spending public funds on celebrating the birthday,” said senior IAS officer S P Singh. The bureaucrat also took potshots at Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for personally supervising the arrangements at Saifai for the celebrations. “It seems he (Akhilesh) has no other important work,” he said.

Suspended IPS officer Amitabh Thakur also criticised the state government for employing the official machinery and ‘misusing’ public funds for the celebrations. Thakur, according to the sources here, has demanded an inquiry into the expenditure incurred on the celebrations.

Thakur, who is facing a vigilance probe in disproportionate assets case, had been suspended after he lodged a police report alleging receiving a threat from Mulayam over telephone.