UP PCS appointments since 2012 to be probed by CBI: CM

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said today that all the appointments made in the Provincial Civil Services in Uttar Pradesh by the state public service commission since 2012 will be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A "strict law" will also be enacted to deal with those patronising criminals and the next session of the state legislature will be convened soon to pass the legislation if it cannot be done in the ongoing session, he said. The chief minister was winding up discussion in the state Assembly on the annual budget for 2017-18.

In hard-hitting remarks apparently aimed at the previous Samajwadi Party government, Adityanath said, "What have you done to the UP PCS...Its credibility is in question. We will get all the appointments in UP PCS made since 2012 probed by the CBI." His reference was to the period when Akhilesh Yadav headed a Samajwadi Party government in the state.

"There has not been a single appointment made since 2012 over which no accusing finger has been raised," the chief minister said, noting that there were at least 1.5 lakh posts in the police department lying vacant as "your intentions were not clear".

He said that the court had stopped the appointments which now his government will take up.
In his speech, Adityanath also said that a former Haryana chief minister was in jail for alleged bunglings in appointments.

The chief minister also asserted that the crime graph had come down during the last four months of his government. "During the present government, one hundred per cent FIRs were being lodged," he said.

Referring to the arrest of the main accused in the recent hooch tragedy in Azamgarh, he asked, "Does the arrested person not have links with Samajwadi Party? He was flourishing under political patronage."

The chief minister said that his government will not just act tough against criminals but bring a strict law to deal with those patronising them. He also referred to recent murders in Sitapur and Raebareli to stress political patronage to criminals but did not elaborate for sake "political courtesy".

Lauding the budget for its "sabkasaath, sabkavikas" vision, he said provisions had been made for every section of society "without any appeasement". "For the first time in the history of the country, the state has got a such a big budget, which will be remembered by farmers for the loan waiver," he said.

The Adityanath government presented its first Rs 3,84,659.71 crore budget for 2017-18 in the Assembly on July 11, making a special provision of Rs 36,000 crore to honour BJP's poll promise of farm loan waiver through debt redemption. The chief minister said every department had got higher allocation this time compared to the previous fiscal.

Pointing towards the opposition benches, he said, "You had nothing to do with development of the state. You were bothered only in self development." He said, "You must thank God that I have not brought out a white paper. It would have made the state 'SP-BSP mukt', on the lines of 'Congress-mukt Bharat'."

Adityanath sought cooperation from opposition parties for ushering in all-round development of Uttar Pradesh to make it a developed state. He said the government was keen on development of important religious places like Ayodhya, Kashi (Varanasi), Mathura-Vrindavan, and holy places on Buddha circuit "without caring for any criticism from any quarter", evoking 'Har Har Mahadev' and 'Jai Shri Ram' chants in the House.

Referring to the decision to provide power to all villages irrespective of its political importance "unlike the previous government", he said, if electricity is supplied to Deva (Deva Sharif), it will also be given to 'Mahadeva' temple. However, dissatisfied with his nearly two-hour speech, the entire opposition staged a walkout, saying they were not allowed to seek clarifications.

The budget, which was presented by Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal last week, is 10.9 per cent higher than last fiscal's and earmarks Rs 55,781.96 crore for new schemes.