'Easy to have darshan at Ram temple but tough to get files cleared': UP Governor on bureaucratic red tape

‘’My only appeal to the officials is that they should point out all the mistakes at the lower level to avoid the delay,’’ Patel said.

Lucknow: In remarks which were likely to embarrass the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, state governor Anandiben Patel said that bureaucratic red tape affected clearance of files and that the officials only looked to find loopholes in the files to delay their clearance.

‘’It is easier to have darshan at Ram Temple but difficult to get clear government files, which keep on moving from one table to another,’’ Patel said while speaking at a function in Ayodhya a few days back.

The governor’s remarks came to light when a video purportedly containing these comments went viral on social media platforms on Thursday.

While the BJP leaders here feigned ignorance about the video, the opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) latched on to it saying that the governor had only stated the truth.

‘’First the officer at the lower level points out the mistakes in the files then the officer above him does the same thing and then the officer above him also does the same and the result is that the file keeps on moving from one table to another,’’ she said.

‘’My only appeal to the officials is that they should point out all the mistakes at the lower level to avoid the delay,’’ she added.

The governor said that this situation was not present only in UP but also in almost every state.

‘’The present dispensation is completely dependent on the bureaucracy and the latter has no interest in public welfare,’’ said an SP leader here.