Lucknow, April 25: An FIR for fraud and irregularities was on Wednesday lodged against former Uttar Pradesh minister Mohd Azam Khan and four others in a recruitment matter pertaining to the Jal Nigam, an official said.
During the previous Samajwadi Party government under Akhilesh Yadav, more than 1,300 recruitments were done in the Jal Nigam and there were scores of allegation of irregularities and favouritism against the minister, the official said.
The Yogi Adityanath government had set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter. Khan was the chairman of the Jal Nigam at the time these recruitments were made.
The SIT had raided the Jal Nigam office in September last year and seized many documents and files related to the mass recruitment.
Both Azam Khan and retired IAS official S.P. Singh, who was Secretary, Urban Development, at the time of the alleged scam have already recorded their statements with the SIT. The SIT has also recorded statement of an aide to the minister.
The FIR also names S.P. Singh, Managing Director P.K. Ashudani, and Chief Engineer Anil Kumar Khare.
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Congress to contest only 11 out of 36 seats in Mumbai; Political analysts predict tough battle
Mumbai: Out of the 36 assembly constituencies in Mumbai, Congress will contest in just 11 seats in the upcoming elections. In the 2019 assembly elections, the party fielded candidates in 30 constituencies, but this time, it has reduced its presence significantly following its alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT). Despite several rounds of discussions led by Mumbai Congress President Varsha Gaikwad and MLA Aslam Shaikh, Congress secured only a few seats under the MVA formula.
The seats allocated to Congress are seen as BJP strongholds, making victory challenging, according to political analysts. Among the 11 constituencies Congress is contesting, four are held by sitting MLAs. Notably, Congress swapped the Bandra East seat with Chandivli, which is held by Shiv Sena (UBT). Additionally, seats like Byculla and Versova, which Congress had shown interest in, were ceded as part of the alliance arrangement.
"This is the fewest seats Congress has contested in decades, indicating its struggles within the seat-sharing dynamics with Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP)," said political analysts. Moreover, in Northeast Mumbai, Congress is fielding candidates in only one constituency.
In Mulund, NCP (SP)'s Sangeeta Wagh and Congress’s Rakesh Shetty have filed nominations, raising the possibility of Congress conceding all of Northeast Mumbai if Shetty withdraws. "We aimed to contest in 14-15 seats but were left with just 11, as Shiv Sena (UBT) had already announced candidates in several constituencies. We will, however, uphold the alliance’s spirit to maximise MVA's win," said Gaikwad.
