75 Per Cent Contractual Employees Are From Reserved Category: UP Information Department's Response To Deputy CM Maurya

In response to a letter written by Uttar Pradesh (UP) Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, the Information Department of the Yogi Adityanath-led government disclosed details of its employees.

Raising the issue of reservations in contractual appointments in different departments of the UP government, Maurya wrote to the chief secretary of the Department of Appointments and Personnel Devesh Chaturvedi.

He asked Chaturvedi whether the provisions of reservations of Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), defined in the government order when Mayawati was the CM, are being followed in contractual appointments.

In response, the Information Department has revealed that of the 676 contractual employees, 512 are of the reserved category, which means more than 75 per cent. Of them, 340 are OBCs.

Notably, the reservation rule does not apply to contractual appointments. During the Lok Sabha elections, a narrative was run that the UP government is recruiting on contract to avoid giving reservation benefits.

However, that does not turn out to be true. The numbers are shocking for those who allege that the BJP is anti-reservation. The number of employed reserved category people crosses the Supreme Court's reservation limit of 50 per cent.

Maurya is an OBC. He joined BJP-ally Apna Dal (Sonelal)'s Anupriya Patel in raising questions on the implementation of reservations in UP government recruitments after having apparent disagreements with Adityanath.

Notably, the Department of Appointments and Personnel is under Chief Minister Adityanath. Questioning the functioning of this department is seen as questioning the Chief Minister himself.

However, if similar numbers of reserved contractual employees emerge from other departments as well, the mouths of Adityanath detractors will be shut. Already, the RSS is in the process to convince Maurya.