Will continue to pull up lax officials: Akhilesh Yadav

LUCKNOW: Defending recent action against administrative officers in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said that his government would continue to crack the whip on laxness by officers.

"It is the duty of officers to work. Action will be taken against those found to be lax," Yadav told reporters after garlanding the statue of former Prime Minister Chowdhury Charan Singh on the occasion of his 27th death anniversary.

Asked about the transfers and suspension of officers after Lok Sabha polls, Akhilesh said, "There are no political reasons for the suspension... Should action not be taken against lax officers?"

"We are working to make law and order (situation) better in the state. Suspending officers does not mean politics," he added.

Following Lok Sabha polls, the ruling Samajwadi Party government had served notices to 10 district magistrates for being irregular in attendance at office.

Besides transferring a number of IAS and IPS officers, the government had also suspended the SPs of Firozabad and Lakhipur.

Samajwadi Party managed to win just five Lok Sabha seats in UP in the just-concluded general elections.