Uttar Pradesh Minister Vinod Kumar Singh alias Pandit Singh, who has been accused of kidnapping the Chief Medical Officer of Gonda, has submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. It comes after the government appointed a two-member committee to probe the alleged incident. Mr. Pandit Singh's resignation has been accepted by the Governor.
Meanwhile, the CMO, S.P. Singh, who had gone missing and was “untraceable,” rejoined duty in Gonda on Friday, a few hours after the Minister's resignation.
It is alleged that the CMO refused to accommodate the nominees of the Minister of State for Revenue and Rehabilitation in the list of contractual Ayush doctors. Not satisfied with his plea that the appointments had been completed, Mr. Vinod Singh on Monday night barged into the doctor’s residence in Gonda officers’ colony and forcibly took him away with the help of his cohorts. Mr. Singh, however, gave his alleged abductors the slip late Monday night.
While Mr. Vinod Singh accused his rivals in Gonda district of political vendetta and claimed that he quit on his own to facilitate an impartial probe, government sources said he had been asked to resign by the Chief Minister, who had taken a serious view of the incident.
It is said that a strong lobby in the Akhilesh Yadav Government, represented by two Cabinet rank Ministers ensured his sacking. They even approached Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh, SP sources said. His resignation was obtained on Thursday itself though it was made public only on Friday.
Mr. Vinod Singh represents the powerful Thakur community in Gonda district, and is at loggerheads with Agriculture Minister and “Raja” of Mankapur Anand Singh, alias Annu Bhaiyya. The Samajwadi Party MP from Kaiserganj and alleged mafia don, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who started off as an acolyte of the erstwhile ruler of Mankapur and later parted ways with him, is now said to be close to Mr. Vinod Singh, SP sources said.
