Six months after he triggered a row by pledging to the early construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, a senior IPS officer in Uttar Pradesh has courted fresh controversy after he allegedly offered to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2019 Lok Sabha election post his retirement on August 31.
A letter purportedly written by Surya Kumar Shukla, Director General, Homeguards, surfaced on Monday. Dated July 23, the leaked letter written on the letter head of the 1982-batch IPS officer, addressed to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, also lists four government posts he would want to be offered by the BJP government post his retirement.
“The pension I will receive post-retirement will be sufficient for the sustenance of me and my family. After retiring, I want to actively help your prachar-prasar (election campaigning) for the 2019 election,” the letter reads.
In the letter, Mr. Shukla begins by introducing himself as an “admirer” of the “honesty, diligence and serving attitude” of Mr. Adityanath in taking the State towards the path of “development and peace.”
While referring to Mr. Adityanath as his “ margdarshak ” (guide) and “ adarsh ” (role model), Mr. Shukla said he had “full commitment and faith” in the “works and ideology” of the BJP.
Arguing that he will be able to “actively help” Mr. Adityanath if allotted a top government position post-retirement, Mr. Shukla lists four vacant positions as preferences. These are: vice-president planning commission, president of Khadi Gram Udyog Board, president of the state social welfare board and head of the State pollution control board, which would give him the status of a minister.
The officer cites his experience in working in several districts in the State as an added qualification.
When contacted for his clarification several times, Mr. Shukla was not available for comment. However, talking to a Hindi news channel, he neither denied nor admitted to writing the specific letter. “Such letters are frequently written on various issues. But it is not proper to share the details with the media till a decision is taken regarding them, because these are departmental correspondence,” Mr. Shukla told the channel Bharat Samachar .
The officer went on to say that post retirement, a government servant was free to do any social work, run a private business or join a political party. He, however, clarified that he had “not taken a final decision” yet on joining the BJP or any other party.
Not new to controversies
In February, a video clip of him taking pledge for the early construction of a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya had gone viral on social media. In the 21-second clip, Mr. Shukla along with half-a-dozen people was seen taking a vow on building the temple. “We Ram bhakts, as part of this programme, take the pledge that a grand Ram Mandir be constructed at the earliest...Jai Sri Ram,” the video showed them saying with one arm raised.
The controversial incident took place during a private function organised in a room of the Public Administration department of the Lucknow University on January 28 by the Akhil Bharatiya Samagra Vichar Manch, which claims to be a social organisation.
