‘Saifai syndicate once held hirings hostage’: CM Yogi Adityanath takes jibe at Akhilesh Yadav

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath clicks a selfie with newly selected junior assistants of Revenue Department, in Lucknow on Wednesday. (Express Photo)

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday took a fresh swipe at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, without naming him, alleging that the “Saifai syndicate” controlled recruitment processes in the state before 2017, accusing the Samajwadi Party and the Congress of promoting corruption, nepotism and irregularities that deprived deserving candidates of government jobs.

Addressing a programme where he distributed appointment letters to 1,146 newly selected junior assistants in the Revenue Department, Adityanath referred to Yadav as one of the “bade ghar ke log” and the “sargana of the Saifai syndicate”. He also made a jibe at Yadav’s uncle and senior SP leader Shivpal Yadav. “When the government distributes appointment letters, he sleeps and wakes up by afternoon. Maybe he remains busy the whole night playing cards and gambling,” Adityanath said in a jibe aimed at the party chief.

Taking a dig at Shivpal, he said, “I tell him (Akhilesh) to start counting and, if he does not know how to count, he should take help from uncle Shivpal Yadav as a tutor. Shivpal has long-standing experience of counting. He has spent his entire life counting.”

Adityanath took a dig at SP senior leader and Akhilesh’s uncle Shivpal Yadav too while stating, “I tell him (Akhilesh ) to start counting and if he does not know how to count, he should take help of uncle Shivpal Yadav who has long-standing experience of counting.”

The CM said the government had distributed appointment letters to 9.5 lakh youths and would continue to do so until January 26. He said a major appointment-letter distribution programme would be held, on average, every five days. Referring to the film Munna Bhai MBBS, he alleged that before 2017, “Munna Bhais” were running the government and recruitment required recommendations and monetary transactions. He claimed that recruitment commissions and boards had been held hostage by the “Saifai syndicate”.

He said in 2017, the Police Department alone had 1.5 lakh vacant posts. He also alleged that the then SP government had abolished 54 Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) companies and that 1,500 riots had taken place during SP’s four terms in power, with curfews continuing for months.

At the programme, the CM also transferred Rs 215 crore in financial assistance to the bank accounts of 4,300 farmers under the Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana. Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak was also present on the occasion.

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CM waives Rs 84.56 cr bond recovery for 1,057 cops promoted to SI

The CM announced a waiver of the recovery of the Rs 8 lakh bond amount deposited by 1,057 UP Police personnel who were selected for the post of sub-inspector. The waiver amounts to Rs 84.56 crore.

The personnel include 1,030 constables and 27 computer operators who appeared for the sub-inspector recruitment exam while in service and were selected. Each was required to deposit Rs 8 lakh during training. The decision will provide them financial relief by exempting them from repayment of the amount. The candidates had approached the CM seeking exemption from the recovery.