UP minister accuses senior colleague of graft

LUCKNOW: In a major embarrassment to the ruling Samajwadi Party, its junior agriculture minister Rajeev Kumar Singh on Sunday accused his senior Anand Singh of endorsing "rampant corruption". Alleging that Anand Singh, a cabinet minister, had ordered UP Seeds Development Corporation to make purchases at thrice the market rates, Rajeev Kumar demanded a government probe into the "scam".
Anand Singh, known to be close to SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, rejected Kumar's allegations, saying the government had decided against purchasing "a single grain of seed" from private agencies.
"Purchase of seeds had my sanction, and also the sanction of a committee comprising agriculture production commissioner, the minister (Rajeev Kumar) who has made these allegations, and the managing director of Seeds Corporation," said Anand Singh.
Rajeev Kumar, an MLA from Barabanki, was unavailable for comment. SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said the matter was being "looked into" even as party sources said Akhilesh had already ordered a probe.
Turning the tables on his junior minister, Singh also suggested that the government "may have stepped on several toes" by agreeing to leave private agencies out of seed sourcing. "The record agricultural yield in UP this year is witness to the quality of seeds supplied to farmers. Naturally, some parties are disgruntled for being left out. I would urge the minister to give me every instance of this alleged 'corruption'," he added.
This isn't the first time that SP ministers have been at loggerheads. In October 2012, minister of state for revenue Vinod Kumar Singh had virtually accused Anand Singh of abducting Gonda CMO S P Singh and conspiring against him.