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UP cabinet minister Ashish Patel alleges ‘life threat’ from STF in his ‘fight for social justice’
UP cabinet minister Ashish Singh Patel said the responsibility of “any incident during his fight for social justice” will rest solely with the STF.
Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Ashish Singh Patel on Tuesday alleged “a threat to his life” from the state police Special Task Force (STF) and a “larger conspiracy” behind allegations of irregularities in his technical education department.
The minister, who is the husband of union minister and Apna Dal (S) national president Anupriya Patel, said the STF will be solely responsible for “any incident during his fight for social justice.”
Pallavi Patel, an MLA from Sirathu representing the Samajwadi Party and a leader of the Apna Dal (Kameravadi), raised the allegations of bypassing service rules for departmental promotions.
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Calling it a “scam,” she accused the departmental officials of violating service rules to favour senior officials. The SP leader also protested the issue in the state assembly.
The minister denied the allegations and emphasized that the promotion of officials was “discussed at all levels, including the chief minister's office”.
“The Principal Secretary convened the departmental promotion committee's meeting, and I ensured the file was shown to the Chief Minister’s Office,” PTI quoted the minister as saying.
‘Conspiracy’
Ashish also alleged a “political conspiracy” behind the allegations and asked why the blame should rest solely with him if the allegations are true. “Why are other officials exempt from scrutiny? By this logic, the Principal Secretary and the entire system should be held accountable. Why are names being selectively dragged into this? Why repeatedly target the minister?,” he asked.
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The minister claimed that the allegations were part of a “conspiracy” to “suppress the voice of social justice”.
“Behind the scenes, the game of crushing the voice of social justice continues. The reason for some people feeling hurt in this matter of promotion is that those OBCs and deprived classes are getting benefits, whose rights were being usurped for years. If you see the category-wise list of promotions attached with the post, you will get an idea of this,” the minister claimed in a post on X.
To come clean on the allegations, he also offered to undergo an investigation on assets earned by him and his wife, Anupriya Patel, after the start of their political careers.
“Not just this, if deemed appropriate, an inquiry can also be conducted into the properties we have acquired after becoming members of Parliament or the Legislative Council,” he added.
