The cat is out of bag. The Akhilesh Yadav Government has diverted money from other departments to organise annual cultural bonanza in Saifai – the native village of Yadav clan. Not to talk about cash rich departments like PWD and irrigation, the Government has even diverted Rs 1 crore from the State-run organisation Ayodhya Research Institute to cultural fest in Saifai. It carries out research work on the life of Lord Ram andRamayana.
This information was leaked out when the officials of the institute came to know that they have no money left to pay the tri-monthly stipend to a research scholar. Not only this, the institute also finances the Ram Lila which runs the show throughout the year. Many artists have also not received their remuneration for last two months. The director of the institute, YP Singh was the nodal officer of the Saifai Mahotsav and diverted the money to please his political bosses leaving the research scholars in the lurch.
No time to visit relief camps, Akhilesh busy in Saifai Mahotsav
This incident has exposed the lies of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Defending Saifai Mahotsav, he said that the Government had spent just Rs 1 crore and that too was the allocation made for the Saifai Mahotsav in the annual budget. But now, how will he justify this, when the diversion of funds has come into light. When media highlighted the expenditure figure of Rs 300 crore – the Chief Minister called it a fabricated amount. He even said that media was spreading a canard against his Government to malign his image. He is obsessed with giving clarifications that while speaking on health projects in a function on Sunday he talked about Saifa Mahotsav saying the Government spent just Rs 1 crore. He even disclosed that cine star Salman Khan had returned the money he had received to the organisers. But there is no independent verification of this claim because Salman had tweeted that he had donated Rs 25 lakh of his Saifai earnings to a medical college.
What defence Chief Minister will have now when it is in black and white that Ayodhya Research Institute’s money was used to pay remuneration to Mumbai singer Javed Ali, stand-in comedian Raju Srivastava, Kathak dancer Vishal Krishna, Kawali maestro Sabri Brothers, folk dancers Roop Singh Shekhawat and Shrishtidhar Mehto. And why the diversion was made from the Ayodhya Research Institute that has a meager budget, which helps the research on lord Ram and Ramayana. What would happen to the artists who perform in Ram Lila. Who will pay their remunerations now?
Akhilesh can’t explain away Saifai shame
Political barbs are also out in this diversion. In fact, BJP speksperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak questioned the State Government saying, “Why this small institute should be deprived of financial support. Just because this organisation finances research on lord Ram, the so-called secular Government picked up this institution. “There are many other institutions like PWD, irrigation, health and sports whose funds were diverted to Saifai. The newspapers have given a conservative figure of Rs 300 crore. The public money spent in Saifai Mahotsava is much more. It is close to Rs 500 crore,” Pathak said. The Samajwadi Party has no answer to these queries. They stick and Rs 1 crore figure. Their ostrich like attitude might boomerang and the party might have to pay a high cost of its arrogance in the next Lok Sabha election.
