‘UP govt trying to mobilise votes on basis of caste’: Mayawati on cabinet expansion

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday inducted seven new ministers in his council, including former Congress leader Jitin Prasada, who jumped ship to the BJP in June this year. Paltu Ram, Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar, Sangeeta Balwant, Dharamveer Singh, Sanjeev Kumar and Dinesh Khatik were also inducted in the UP cabinet.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Monday took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Uttar Pradesh over the induction of new ministers in the cabinet ahead of the assembly elections in the state next year. Taking to Twitter, Mayawati said that the state government is trying to woo voters on the basis of caste by bringing new ministers into the cabinet.

Taking to Twitter, Mayawati said that the state government is trying to woo voters on the basis of caste by bringing new ministers into the cabinet. (File photo)

"Whoever has been made a minister by BJP yesterday to mobilise votes on the basis of caste in UP, it would have been better if they did not accept it. Because by the time they will understand their respective ministry and want to do something, the code of conduct for election will be implemented here," Mayawati's tweet, roughly translated in Hindi read.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday inducted seven new ministers in his council, including former Congress leader Jitin Prasada, who jumped ship to the BJP in June this year. Paltu Ram, Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar, Sangeeta Balwant, Dharamveer Singh, Sanjeev Kumar and Dinesh Khatik were also inducted in the UP cabinet.

With the inclusion of new ministers, the constitutional limit of having a maximum of 60 ministers in the state has been reached. This is the second-ever expansion of the council of ministers in Uttar Pradesh after 2019.

Advising voters to be wary of the Yogi Adityanath government's double character, Mayawati also said that the UP chief minister has not taken any steps for the development and upliftment of society, adding, most of the works started by the BSP in this regard have been stopped by the government.

Among the seven new ministers, only Jitin Prasada belongs to the Brahmin community. Experts have said that Prasada's inclusion as the latest Brahmin minister in the cabinet is a part of the BJP's attempts to woo the community in the state. The current cabinet has several Brahmin leaders including the likes of deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma, Shrikant Sharma, Ram Naresh Agnihotri, Satish Chandra among others.

MoS Sanjeev Kumar is the only Scheduled Tribe (ST) MLA in Uttar Pradesh who represents the Obra assembly constituency from the Sonbhadra district. Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar (Kurmi), Sangeeta Balwant (Bind) and Dharamveer Singh (Prajapati) are from backward castes. Ministers Paltu Ram and Dinesh Khatik belong to the Scheduled Castes (SCs).