CM Akhilesh Yadav sacks two ministers, 3 more may go

LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday sacked tainted cabinet ministers Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and Raj Kishore Singh in an attempt to present a clean face ahead of assembly polls early next year.

Three more ministers have been identified for sacking due to financial irregularities, senior Samajwadi Party leaders said. The party’s brass is serious about presenting a clean and development oriented image before the voters, they said.

Prajapati, one of the most controversial ministers, was removed in a sudden move on Monday noon. Prajapati had a swift rise within SP, leaving even senior leaders wondering about his USP. A first-time MLA from Amethi, Prajpati was earlier made minister of state for irrigation and then elevated to cabinet rank with the plum portfolio of mining, and had come to be identified as the party’s moneybag. He was known to be an acolyte of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, but did not pull along well with the CM on many issues.

He was facing a Lokayukta probe. Three days ago the Allahabad High Court had rejected a plea by the state government to withdraw court’s order for a CBI probe into illegal mining in Uttar Pradesh. The court had in July ordered a CBI probe into illegal mining across the state and role of government functionaries in abetting it.