By IANS,
Lucknow: Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh Wednesday demanded action against a district magistrate (DM) who allegedly made some controversial remarks during a meeting to review a housing scheme for poor.
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and Allahabad District Magistrate Sanjay Prasad allegedly discussed the number of votes the state’s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party would win by executing the housing scheme during a meeting attended by senior government officials.
The Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party virtually came on a same platform Wednesday, demanding an enquiry against Prasad for his controversial remarks given Tuesday during the review meeting.
The controversial remarks came to the fore Wednesday evening after TV news channels started televising the footage of the meeting that was presided over by Prasad.
“It’s very clear in the footage… The DM says if the state government is spending crores of rupees on a housing scheme and still does not manage to get 1,500 votes then what’s the use,” Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh told reporters here.
“As the DM realises the proceedings of the meeting are being recorded by TV cameras, he switches off the mike. The footage serves as strong evidence against the BSP government, projecting how it is misusing the official machinery to solicit support,” he added.
Echoing similar sentiments, BJP state unit president H.N. Dixit said: “The footage has made it very clear that bureaucrats are serving as political agents for the BSP government. The case is a serious one and demands strict action against the DM.”
Samajwadi Party functionaries also demanded stern action against Prasad.
Despite several attempts Prasad could not be contacted on his mobile phone as it was switched off. When a call was made on his residence telephone, an official on telephone duty said, “The DM has gone out… It’s not (known) when he would return.”