Less than a month after Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister who also held health portfolio, Brijesh Pathak, sent his resignation to the Governor citing discrimination, another UP State Minister for Jal Shakti Dinesh Khatik has quitted the Yogi Adityanath-led government on the basis of being discriminated for hailing from Dalit caste.
In a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, Khatik expressed his displeasure at being sidelined by the party and made repeated references to discrimination on the basis of his caste identity.
Khatik said that since assuming charge of the Jal Shakti [water] Department for the second time, no responsibility has been bestowed upon him by the state government.
“This is the disrespect of a public representative… I have not been allocated responsibilities either in the Jal Shakti Department so far.” He also explicitly alleged in his letter that he was being discriminated against because he hails from Dalit caste.
The discrimination was condemned by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, a popular face of Dalit politics in the state, as well as by Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Yadav jibed, “Sometimes, the bulldozer moves backwards,” referring to Adityanath’s much-touted ‘bulldozer politics’.—KMS
