The importance of being Gayatri Prasad Prajapati in UP

September 18, 2016 05:35 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 06:30 am IST - LUCKNOW

Opposition parties have claimed there is a deeper story behind the annulment of his sacking.

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav with Gayatri Prasad Prajapati.

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav with Gayatri Prasad Prajapati.

His sacking from the cabinet last Monday is said to have triggered the fresh bout of power struggle involving the top brass of the Samajwadi Party. His return within less than a week, authorized by the party supremo himself, was part of the deal brokered between sparring Akhilesh Yadav and his uncle Shivpal Yadav. To many the sequence of events, show the importance of Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, the most-tainted minister in the State since Akhilesh Yadav took over.

As Mr. Prajapati looks set to officially retain his mining ministry, opposition parties have claimed there is a deeper story behind the annulment of his sacking.

The political circle in Lucknow is rife with theories and speculations about why Mr. Prajapati was re-inducted as his removal, three days after the Allahabad High Court upheld a CBI probe into illegal mining, would have served better for the image-conscious Akhilesh Yadav ahead of the polls.

While many attribute it to his proximity to Mr. Mulayam, others feel it could also have to do with his alleged connection with Akhilesh’s step-brother Prateek Yadav and his real estate business. After his sacking, Mr. Prajapati met the supremo twice in three days, a privilege a standard minister would not have been accorded, opines political observer Surendra Rajput.

Mr. Prajapati has been a constant source of embarrassment for the government. A first-time MLA from Amethi, he has been mired in controversies and allegations of corruption and land grabs throughout his tenure, even leading to the Lokayukta to probe a case of disproportionate assets against him. In 2014, a widow from Amethi even staged a dharna in the heart of Lucknow accusing him of land grab, while he was also served notices for occupying gram sabha land in the State capital. Earlier this year he once again came under the scanner of the Lokayukta after a complaint was made that his daughter was one of the alleged beneficiaries of the ‘Kanya Dhan Yojana,’ which is awarded to those under the BPL category. A property dealer by profession, Mr. Prajapati is a declared millionaire.

He also became the central point of the controversy involving social activist Nutan Thakur and her husband IPS Amitabh Thakur who alleged that SP chief Mulayam threatened them on telephone after they filed a case against the controversial minister. Many of the charges against Mr. Prajapati have been withdrawn or repealed, even as he has denied all allegations.

His rags to riches story, from an insignificant political entity to having access to Mulayam Singh’s ear, is often a point of gossip.

Though he belongs to the OBC community, Mr. Prajapati does not boast the charisma or winnability of many other regional backward satraps. Till he became an MLA for the first time in 2012, he had been unsuccessfully contesting elections for two decades—he first fought in 1993 as a Bahujan Kranti Dal candidate securing only 1,526 votes, before losing badly on SP ticket in 1996 and 2002. Interestingly, today known for his ostentation, even hiring the services of a PR agency for himself, back then he reportedly identified in the Below Poverty Line category.

In 2007, he was denied a ticket but four years later he shot into the limelight when he publicly donated Rs 25 lakh to the party at a party convention in Agra. His chemistry with the Supremo is said to have soared after that. Mulayam Singh also deputed him to connect with the 17 most backward castes.

Then in 2012, pitched against Amita Singh, the wife of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Sinh’s wife, he delivered a surprise win from Amethi, the Nehru-Gandhi bastion. “Money has played a major role in Prajapati’s return. Congress can only say that this episode has put the last nail in the coffin of SP and its government,” Mr. Sinh told The Hindu.

Since his entry into government, Mr. Prajapati has climbed the political ladder rather quickly, winning timely promotions and support of the supremo in campaigning. Starting out at a minister of State for irrigation, working under Shivpal Singh, in 2013, he was then shifted to the lucrative mining department, then directly under the CM. Just before the Lok Sabha elections, he was made cabinet minister with the rewarding berth of mining, which has been under scanner for corruption charges.

BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday questioned the sequence of events leading to Mr. Prajapati’’s return, saying “it is amply clear that there is something fishy (daal mein kuch zabardast kala hai).” She said “If he is honest, then why was he sacked in the first place. And if there was corruption rampant in his department, then won’t such a minister engage in corruption in other departments too?” Ms. Mayawati asked.

The BJP termed Mr. Prajapati’s sacking as a “mere drama” and alleged that corrupt ministers enjoyed the patronage of the CM. If Mr. Yadav was against corruption, why did his government challenge the HC order of a CBI probe into illegal mining in the State, BJP UP president Keshav Prasad Maurya asked.

Many wonder if Mr. Prajapati would prove to be the SP’s Babu Singh Kushwaha, who also held the mining department and had to resign amid corruption charges in the BSP government. The Hindu tried to reach Mr. Prajapati though the phone numbers listed on the UP Assembly website but they did not connect to him.

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