Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Jal Shakti Dinesh Khatik has offered his resignation alleging large-scale irregularities in his department and discrimination against himself as he comes from the Dalit community and has dared any probing agency to investigate the allegations he has made.
Khatik has sent a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah offering to resign from the post. The minister was not available for comment.
In his letter, he has stated that even though the Dalits and Backwards are taken along in cabinets and councils, under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Shah and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is where it is today by their hard work but there is an anomaly.
Khatik has alleged that as he is a minister from the Dalit community there was discrimination against him in the department. “I have not been given any power, therefore my letters are not being replied to. No action is taken on the letter written by me,” he stated.
Khatik said as he is associated with the Dalit community so he has been appointed as Minister of State in Jal Shakti Department under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has an honest and clean image. But when it boils down to officials in his department they hardly bother to listen to him.
“Despite being the Minister of State no action is being taken on the orders issued by me. Neither I am informed about any meeting nor any information provided by the officers regarding what schemes are being currently operated in the department and what action is being taken on them due to which I do not get any concrete information about the department of the Minister of State.”
Khatik has stated that the officers of the department concerned consider “only providing a vehicle to the Minister of State as his right and their duties to the minister are considered discharged.
The Jal Shakti Minister has leveled some strong charges:
“Large-scale corruption has been done in this department during transfer session 2022-23.
“Keeping in view the ‘zero tolerance’ of CM Yogi Adityanath when I sought information regarding transfers of the officers officially on July 9 that information has not been provided to me till date,” he has stated.
The information was not provided to him even though he called up the departmental head and asked for the same, he states in the letter.
“When I tried to apprise Principal Secretary Irrigation Anil Garg of the situation he disconnected the phone without listening to me. He ignored me which is an insult to a public representative,” he said.
“There is large-scale corruption in this department even under the Namami Gange scheme, which is revealed on visiting the ground and whenever I lodged a complaint against any officer then no action is taken against him.
“If you want, it could also be investigated by any agency.”
Khatik has stated that as the officers of his own department are not giving any attention to him Dalits were not getting proper respect and the rules of the Prime Minister’s schemes Namai Gange and Har Ghar Nal are being overlooked.
“When there is no real existence of a Dalit Minister of State in the department then in such a situation continuing on the post is useless, it means nothing for the Dalit community. Feeling hurt by all these things, I am resigning from my post,” he said.
