UP Panchayati department’s controversial order creates political heat

The political atmosphere of Uttar Pradesh has heated up over the latest order by the panchayati raj department over freeing up the land owned by the Yadav and Muslim communities.

Though reportedly the concerned officer has been suspended by the minister, opposition leaders are up on their arms against the state government. Samajwadi Party (SP) National President Akhilesh Yadav and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar have criticized the government and have questioned the intention of the BJP government.

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The controversy emerged after the Panchayati Raj Director on Monday issued an order to all the District Magistrates of the state, in which it was asked to free the land of Gram Sabha, ponds, compost pits, barns, playgrounds, cremation grounds and Gram Panchayat buildings from illegal occupation by a particular caste (Yadav) and a particular religion (Muslim) in 57,691 Gram Panchayats of the state.

Targeting the Yogi government, SP President Akhilesh Yadav wrote on his social media account X on Tuesday that, “Action should be taken against whatever is illegal because illegal is illegal, then why are people of a particular caste or religion being targeted.”

Akhilesh Yadav further wrote, “The judiciary should take immediate cognizance, this is an anti-constitutional act. We will go to court against this. The more the PDA is harassed, the more the PDA unity will increase.”

At the same time, Azad Samaj Party chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad strongly attacked the Yogi government on this matter and called it extreme casteism and communalism.

In his statement, the Nagina MP said, “This order of the Panchayati Raj Department officials to target the ‘Yadav’ and ‘Muslim’ communities by writing their names and removing land encroachment is not only unconstitutional, but is also deeply casteist and communal.”

The MP wrote that this order, which is completely politically motivated, directly attacks Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. Also, this is indiscipline under the Employee Conduct Service Manual, which clearly states that officers cannot discriminate on the basis of caste or religion.

Chandrashekhar further said, “We demand from the Chief Minister of UP that if the government’s intentions are clear in this matter, then strict action should be taken against the guilty officers by not only suspending them, but filing an FIR and dismissing them from service.”

Meanwhile , giving clarification on this order, Uttar Pradesh government’s Panchayati Raj Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said, “Yesterday, a colleague sent this order to my number. For this, I myself had sought information from the Principal Secretary, Special Secretary, Director of the department. They denied having any knowledge about any such order. This information was sent to the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister. After receiving their instructions, the said officer was suspended with immediate effect.”

Rajbhar said that similar officers in the government are working to tarnish the image of the government. One has to be careful of such people.