The 100-day celebrations of the Yogi Adityanath government 2.0 were marred by a controversy when a Dalit minister allegedly sent his resignation to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that he was "sidelined because of being a Dalit".
Dinesh Khatik, Minister of State for Jal Shakti, claimed in his letter that he was not assigned any work for 100 days. "I am resigning because I am hurt," he said in the letter while alleging irregularities in departmental transfers.
"I was not given any importance because I am a Dalit. I have no authority as a minister. My working as a minister of state is a waste for the Dalit community. I am not called to any meeting and not told anything about my ministry. This is an insult to the Dalit community," Khatik wrote in his two-page letter that has gone viral.
‘The Pioneer’ does not independently verify the authenticity of the letter.
The letter is addressed to Amit Shah rather than Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, which in political circle is seen as an attempt to ask the people concerned to persuade him to withdraw his resignation.
Khatik, a two-time legislator, is a prominent Dalit leader of western Uttar Pradesh and represents Hastinapur assembly constituency of Meerut. Last year also, during the Yogi government 1.0, he had threatened to resign over police action against a trader in Meerut’s Ganganagar and the reluctance of the local police officials to act on his directions.
In his letter, without naming Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh, Khatik claimed that he was not assigned any work. “I am given an impression that the minister of state should not expect anything more than an official car,” he wrote in his letter.
His letter, which repeatedly refers to the fact that he is a Dalit, alleges that he is not kept in the loop by the officials in matters related to the ministry, or invited to any departmental meeting.
“On July 9, I enquired about transfers in the department after receiving complaints of irregularities and corruption but did not get a response despite speaking to the top officials of the government and the department. I also sought details about the transfers made in the department in 2022-23 but the details were not provided to me,” Khatik said in his letter.
“When I sought clarification, my phone was bluntly disconnected midway by the principal secretary of the department,” Khatik said in his letter.
He also alleged corruption in transfer of officials saying money changed hands during transfer which was a violation of Chief Minister Yogi’s commitment of clean administration.
“If you want you can verify my charges through an independent agency,” he said.
Later in the day, Khatik refused to confirm or deny whether he had resigned from the council of ministers.
“Koi vishay nahi hai (There is no issue),” Khatik, told reporters in Hastinapur.
Meanwhile, Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh ruled out resignation by his junior minister. “There is no truth about he being neglected. We talk to each other almost daily,” said Singh, who is also Bharatiya Janata Party state president.