Admitting that popularity of his Government has gone down after Durga Shakti Nagpal suspension episode Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that truth will come to the fore after the probe team submits report.
"The charge sheet has been served to the officer. Just wait for the truth to come out. let the government work on the available facts," Yadav told reporters after inaugurating dairy and poultry projects in the state here on Tuesday. Chief Minister admitted that the incidents has tarnished the image of his government and even quoted a SMS sent by a journalist about his waning popularity. "The SMS said in the survey, out of 2,333 people in the country, 95.1 per cent voted against me and just 1.2 per cent supported the government's action against Durga.
Some people from Bangalore also informed me that my popularity is on the decline," visibly upset Yadav said. It was probably first time Chief Minister talked about popularity of his Government. "The decision was administrative but it was turned into a political issue by some political parties in collusion with political parties," he said. If Yadav was subtle in his statement, his Health Minister Ahmad Hasan was blunt who blamed media for tarnishing Government’s image.
"Not all, but just 5 per cent of the media persons have launched a campaign against us. These are the same journalists who have made money through illegal means in last BSP rule," he said evoking sharp reaction from the journalists. The minister however, did not disclose the names even after repeated queries from the reporters. "Media is talking about lIU report and the district magistrate's report but is silent on the reaction from the local people. It is surprising that the media did not record the statement of the village pradhan or showed the demolished boundary wall of the mosque," minister said and asked why media is so partisan in its approach. He also criticised the Congress ,BJP and other political parties for making such a big issue over this trifle matter.
"Where were these parties and bureaucrats when a non-IAS cadre officer in the state was made the cabinet secretary," he questioned. Supporting the suspension of Durga, he said it was the sentiment of the people that forced Chief Minister to take a harsh decision. "Government has enough circumstantial evidences against her to justify its decision," he said. When asked about the statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that the Centre was in touch with the state government over the issue the SP leader said: Mulayam Singh Yadav is in New Delhi and he will reply to the PM's statement in lok Sabha.