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Those who sold govt jobs will spend rest of their lives in jail: Yogi Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath makes his first reference to the 2016 multiple-salary scam involving X-ray technicians
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday issued a stern warning to those who sold government jobs in exchange for money, saying they will end up in jail for the rest of their life.
Citing the 2016 recruitment of X-ray technicians, wherein salaries were allegedly drawn from eight different locations under a single name, he called it a clear case of corruption.
“This recruitment happened in 2016, and one person was receiving salary from eight places. The probe is ongoing, and once it concludes, many characters from the Mahabharata will find themselves behind bars for life,” the chief minister said.
He was speaking at a function held to distribute appointment letters to newly recruited X-ray technicians and junior assistants.
The health directorate has already initiated an investigation into the scam allegedly involving at least six X-ray technicians who, since 2016, have been drawing monthly salaries using nearly identical credentials, including the same name and personal details.
Officials said these individuals were among over 400 technicians appointed through the Subordinate Services Selection Commission in 2016, with their joining completed in July that year. Since then, they had been drawing salaries on different codes. Four of them shared the same permanent address, while two had different ones.
The chief minister further accused the previous government of running a corrupt recruitment system.
“There was a family that sold jobs for money and looted the people of Uttar Pradesh. Recruitment was frequently halted because of irregularities, and candidates were left disillusioned. This was the reality before 2016,” Adityanath said.
Sharpening his attack on previous regimes, the chief minister said their misgovernance had plunged the state into stagnation. “They turned Uttar Pradesh into a BIMARU state. When we came, we had to hand over several recruitments to the CBI to investigate.”
He noted that before 2017, the system had been hollowed out like termite-infested wood.
“But under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh has overcome these challenges and achieved new milestones,” he said.
The CM underlined the transparent and timely recruitment process adopted by his government. In eight years, 2.19 lakh police personnel have been recruited, including a recent batch of over 60,000.
Calling the fair and transparent selection process the reflection of a “new Uttar Pradesh,” he said the state’s medical health and medical education department has made a major leap in the last eight-and-a-half years.
“This transformation is part of taking forward Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Viksit India. In 70 years, UP’s economy reached ₹13 lakh crore, but in the last eight- and-a-half years, it has surged to ₹35 lakh crore. What was not achieved in seven decades has been accomplished twice as fast in less than a decade. Today, the youth of UP have a job guarantee in their own state,” he said.
Highlighting progress in medical services, the CM said appointment letters had been issued to 1,354 staff nurses, 7,182 ANMs, and 1,102 specialist doctors in the health department. Recruitment of 278 associate professors in the medical education department has been completed, along with 2,142 staff nurses for major medical institutions across UP. “All of them are now contributing significantly to UP’s development,” he said.
He said that in the past, hospitals often remained non-functional—sometimes there were doctors but no medicines, sometimes medicines but no doctors, and even when both were available, electricity was missing.
“Today, however, people across districts are receiving all essential facilities. Medicines are being supplied through the UP Medical Corporation, and over 5.34 crore families are benefiting from the Ayushman Card scheme. So far, more than 80 lakh people have availed treatment under Ayushman Bharat, for which the UP government, in collaboration with the Government of India, has made payments of over ₹3,000 crore. Recently, the state has also announced a cashless medical facility for teachers, benefiting 11 lakh families,” he added.
“Earlier, except in a few districts like Lucknow and BHU, ICUs, blood banks, digital X-ray, and color Doppler facilities were absent. In 2017, more than two-thirds of UP’s districts did not even have a single ICU bed. Today, every district has mini-ICUs, ICU beds, digital X-ray, blood banks, blood separator units, and free dialysis facilities for the poor. Public healthcare facilities have expanded significantly in every area.”
Addressing the recruits, the CM said, “You have got jobs without giving anything so you are also expected to work with honesty as technicians and junior assistants are the backbone of any institution.”
He further said, “Before 2017, there were only 5,390 MBBS seats in the state; today the number has risen to 11,850. PG seats have increased from 1,344 to 4,028, and super-speciality seats from 120 to 305. Additionally, 1,234 medical teachers have been recruited in government medical colleges.”
Taking a jibe at critics, the CM said, “Some people have no work other than spreading negativity on their smartphones. By circulating misleading photos, they attempt to tarnish the image of the government, departments, and even you. One must remain cautious of such elements. Work honestly, create opportunities for betterment without fear.”
Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, minister of state Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh, principal secretary health Parth Sarathi Sen Sharma were also present at the function.
Among those who received their appointment letters directly from the CM were Preeti (Hardoi), Janeshwar Dwivedi (Sultanpur), Anju Devi (Sitapur), Puneet Kumar (Barabanki), Kajal Dubey (Ayodhya), and Mohd Rafad Khan (Lucknow).
