Lucknow: Within an
hour of taking over as the new Uttar Pradesh chief minister,
promising "change in two days", Akhilesh Yadav Thursday overhauled
the state bureaucracy by showing the door to officials of the
earlier Mayawati government and bringing in old Samajwadi Party
(SP) loyalists.
Akhilesh Yadav at 38 has become the youngest and the 33rd chief
minister of India's most populous and politically crucial state.
"Change will be seen by all in two days," the new chief minister
told IANS on the sidelines of his first press interaction after
assuming the post.
And the change was brought sooner than he promised. He reshuffled
all officials on the 'pancham tal', the fifth floor of the chief
minister's office, the seat of power in Uttar Pradesh.
All officials of the previous regime were put into waiting list. A
host of new faces, including many loyalists to his father Mulayam
Singh Yadav, were brought in.
Among the new entrants were Alok Kumar, Anita Singh and Pandhari
Yadav, who have been made secretaries to the new chief minister.
In his interaction with the media at his official 5, Kalidas Marg
residence, Akhilesh Yadav pledged that his government would make
its promise to farmers and the unemployed youth its first and
foremost priority.
He was to preside his first cabinet meeting Thursday evening to
take "major decisions".
He assumed the charge nine days after his Samajwadi Party (SP) won
a thumping majority in Uttar Pradesh.
At the swearing in ceremony, there was deafening applause by the
many thousands of SP supporters and workers gathered at the
sprawling La Martiniere College grounds.
Akhilesh Yadav took the oath of office in Hindi and swore in the
name of god to abide by his duties.
He waved at the surging crowds, almost breaking barricades to
catch a glimpse of him, and smiled at known faces, thanking them
with folded hands as he walked across the specially erected dais
to be sworn in by Governor B.L. Joshi.
The son of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav was
credited with steering the party to victory in Uttar Pradesh. It
won 224 of the 403 seats in the assembly, leaving previously
ruling Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party with only 80 seats.
Coming to the venue ahead of son Akhilesh, Mulayam Singh took care
that guests from other states and national leaders were well taken
care of. Prominent amongst them were former Haryana chief minister
Om Prakash Chautala, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal,
who was sworn in for the fifth time Wednesday and AIADMK chief J.
Jayalalithaa's emissary M. Thambidurai.
The swearing-in ceremony saw a large presence of industrialists,
religious seers and film stars. Bollywood was represented by Jaya
Bachchan and Zayed Khan while the industry was represented by
Sahara Chief Subrata Roy Sahara and Reliance Group chairman Anil
Ambani.
Nineteen cabinet and 28 state ministers also took oath and include
veteran Azam Khan, uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, retired IPS officer
Ahmad Hasan as well as Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya, an
independent legislator who has been arrested for his alleged
involvement in criminal cases and is currently out on bail.
Akhilesh Yadav is currently a Lok Sabha MP and would need to get
elected to the Uttar Pradesh legislature within six months.
The new chief minister said his actions would start speaking very
soon.
Replying to a question on how would the state government generate
funds for the largesse the SP has announced in form of free power
supply, free laptops and tablets, he said if funds were available
in the past for stones and statues, why could they not be
generated for developmental projects.
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