The transfer of a Public Works Department (PWD) assistant engineer in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s home town Gorakhpur has virtually driven a wedge among the lawmakers.
While one section justified the officer’s transfer, terming him as corrupt, the dissenting section called the transfer “unjustified and persecution of an honest officer”.
Caught in the cleft stick is Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who ordered the transfer of the assistant engineer on the complaint of Gorakhpur Sadar MLA Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal.
Now, Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan and four other BJP MLAs of the region have written to Maurya, demanding rollback of the transfer order of the engineer.
Meanwhile, BJP MP from Bansgaon, Kamlesh Paswan, also jumped into the slugfest and threw his weight behind Dr Agarwal over the issue.
In his Facebook post on Wednesday, Paswan said that he supported Dr Agarwal’s fight against corruption.
“We are all aware of the quality of work being done in the region. Who is the person responsible for this? He should be punished,” he posted.
On his part, Dr Agarwal thanked Paswan, saying that his support had given him moral courage to fight against corruption.
It all started with Dr Agarwal blaming the engineer for waterlogging at Vasundhara and Pragya Vihar Colony on Gorakhpur-Deoria four-lane highway. The MLA blamed that these colonies faced waterlogging as the highway was made too high and there was no drainage to flush out rain water.
After his complaint, PWD Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya transferred the engineer out of the region. Soon after, Dr Agarwal thanked the deputy chief minister in his Facebook post.
But Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan said that the highway was slated to be made high to prevent waterlogging on the road which could lead to accidents. He also said that a drain was under construction and after its completion the problem of waterlogging in these two colonies would end.
In his letter to Maurya, BJP MLA from Papriaich, Mahendra Pal Singh, said that all major roads in his constituency were made under the supervision of the engineer and he had completed all ensuring quality work on time. He said transfer of the assistant engineer would delay the ongoing works.
BJP legislator from Gorakhpur Rural, Vipin Singh, too said that all works in his Assembly segment were underway at a fast pace ensuring quality. He said that the complaint against the assistant engineer was fabricated and he should be reinstated in Gorakhpur.
In his letter, BJP MLA from Shahjanwa, Sheetal Pandey, claimed that the assistant engineer was an honest and efficient engineer and was required in the area for completing ongoing works.
BJP MLA from Campierganj seat, Fateh Bahadur Singh, too said that removal of the assistant engineer would disrupt all road-related works in the area and hence, he should be reinstated immediately.