Lucknow:
Acting on the recommendation of state Lokayukta Justice N K Mehrotra, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has ordered a probe against BSP supremo Mayawati's close aide former state power minister Ramveer Upadhyay, officials in Lucknow said on Saturday.
The investigation, ordered late on Friday, would look into the allegations of misuse of power by Upadhyay and disproportionate assets acquired by him and his family members, besides several other irregularities during his five-year tenure in the previous government, informed sources told IANS.
A communique to this effect has been sent to the state Lokayukta office.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) government has, however, ruled out a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case and instead ordered an inquiry by the state vigilance department.
Allegations that the former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) minister awarded Public Works Department (PWD) contracts to beneficiaries known to him would be probed by the PWD technical advisory committee, according to the order issued by the Chief Minister's Office.
An inquiry into an alleged land-grabbing case, wherein Upadhyay is accused of arm- twisting poor people into surrendering their land to him, will be conducted by the Board of Revenue, officials said.
Upadhyay, however, rebutted the charges and claimed that he was neither a corrupt man nor was he afraid of any investigation. "I have not done anything wrong and am ready to face any probe against myself or my family," he added.
The chief minister on Friday told reporters that his office has received a number of requests for ordering investigations against several BSP ministers and that he was looking into them seriously.
The probe against the former minister is likely to further escalate the hostility between arch rivals SP and the BSP.