LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: Hitting back at the Centre, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Friday rejected as “politically motivated” Union Minister Jairam Ramesh’s allegations of embezzlement and misuse of funds in implementation of MGNREGA in her state.
Mayawati in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard on Friday also accused the Rural Development Minister of having a pre-conceived agenda and arriving at conclusions without taking cognisance of steps taken by her government.
Ramesh swiftly rejected the charge, asserting there is “no politics” involved and that his letter to the BSP supremo in the poll-bound state is based on reports of National and State level monitors.
He had also dared her to order a CBI probe on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act(MNREGA) implementation in UP.
“There is no politics involved. My letter is based on reports of NLMs (National Level Monitors) and SQM (State Quality Monitor) who found embezzlement of funds.
There are instances of deliberate misuse of MGNREGA funds (in some districts),” Ramesh said of his communication to Mayawati which prompted her to dash of a letter to the Prime Minister.
There were “deliberate instances” of embezzlement of funds in the BSP ruled state and “overwhelming” evidence against officials, he said, adding he would not hesitate to recommend a CBI probe even in Congress-ruled states if any irregularities in MGNREGA implementation were detected.
Dismissing the charges made by Ramesh, Mayawati said, “The minister, through his letter, attempted to score political points by alleging misuse of funds by the UP. The letter was released to the media much before it was received here confirming the intentions of the minister.”(PTI)
