Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday hit out at the BJP government over the alleged provident fund (PF) scam in Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).
Yadav said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led corrupt BJP government was looking for excuses to divert the public attention and was engaging in vendetta politics by levelling baseless accusations at the previous state government.
"The UP Power Minister, who took Rs 20 crore donation from the Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL), would (he) please tell what is his relationship with the company," Yadav asked in a press statement issued on Sunday evening.
Lambasting the BJP government for claiming to be a clean one, the SP chief said: "Gradually, the layers of corruption in their governments were unravelling." "The BJP government has to tell us about its intentions on investing the employees' hard-earned money in the company that was already a defaulter," he said.
Two officers were arrested in a case related to the alleged investment of over Rs 2,600 crore of UPPCL employees' PF money into the scam-hit DHFL.
Praveen Kumar Gupta, who was the secretary of the Uttar Pradesh State Power Employees Trust and the Provident Fund Trust of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation in 2016, and then Director, Finance, Sudhanshu Dwivedi, were arrested after an FIR was lodged against them at Hazratganj Police station here. The FIR was registered against the officers on the directions of Chief Minister Adityanath on Saturday, a government spokesperson had said in a statement.
The secretary Praveen Kumar Gupta of the UP State Power Employees Trust and UPPCL's Provident Fund Trust, and UPPCL's erstwhile Director (Finance) Sudhanshu Dwivedi began the actual investment in DHFL from March 2017 even without bringing the matter to the knowledge of the UPPCL's managing director, said UP Energy Minister and state government's spokesperson Shrikant Sharma.
The duo began investing UPPCL's employees provident fund in DHFL despite a clearance to deposit the money for a fixed period in the Punjab national bank, he added.
Slamming Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav for targeting the Yogi Adityanath government on the issue, Sharma said, "It's laughable that the parties, whose names are synonymous with corruption have levelled allegations against the government of a 'sanyasi' (Yogi Adityanath)."
Detailing chronology of the investment decision, Sharma said, "During Akhilesh Yadav's regime on April 21, 2014, it was decided that if there are options of getting more interest, the amount of EPF and GPF can be invested there (DHFL)."
"By taking this decision, the gates of corruption were opened (during the Samajwadi Party regime)," asserted Sharma.
"The process of investment was carried forward in 2016 and on December 17, 2016, the Trust's secretary (Gupta) and UPPCL's finance director (Dwiwdi) were authorised for this. After this, from March 2017, the process to investment of the EPF money in DHFL began," he said.
After getting a complaint of the "dubious investment" on July 10, 2019, a committee was constituted within two days on July 12, 2019, the minister said, adding the committee report was submitted to the government on August 29 and on the basis of its recommendations, "our government has initiated strict action".
Attacking the SP supremo, Sharma said, "He is trying to put our government in the dock alleging corruption, but he should reply why his government prepared the ground for corruption. Was not the entire matter going on Akhilesh's directions?"
The Energy Department portfolio was with Akhilesh at that time, he pointed out.
The senior minister also lashed out at Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi for making allegations against the BJP government.
Priyanka Gandhi in a tweet had said earlier, "The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh invested the money from the provident fund of the state's power corporation personnel in a defaulting company like DHFL. Whose interest was to be served by investing more than Rs 2,000 crore of the employees' hard-earned money in such a company? Is it justified to play with the future of the employees?"
Sharma hit back, saying, "She (Priyanka) too should tell the people why her husband grabbed land of farmers in Bikaner and Haryana." "The matter has been referred to the CBI and those involved will be dealt with strictly," the minister said, adding the government will also ensure the recovery of the money left with DHFL.
He sought to assure the power corporation's employees that the government would take whatever steps needed to protect their interest.
Chief minister Adityanath on Saturday recommended a CBI probe into the investment of over 2,600 crore of the state power corporation employees' provident fund money in scam-hit DHFL, Additional Chief Secreatry (Home) Awanish Awasthi said.
An FIR was registered at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow against Praveen Kumar Gupta and Sudhanshu Dwivedi, he said.
Gupta and Dwivedi have already been arrested.
Adityanath directed the director general of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to investigate the case till the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) takes over the matter.
In 2016, on a proposal of Gupta, an approval was given by Dwivedi and A P Mishra, the then UPPCL's managing director A P Mishra, that the GPF and CPF were invested in the PNB Housing, according to an official spokesperson.
After this, Gupta and Dwivedi started investing the money in DHFL without bringing the matter even to the knowledge of the managing director, said a UP government statement on Saturday.
The DHFL promoters were also recently grilled by the Enforcement Directorate for their links with a front company of Iqbal Mirchi, a former aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
After the matter came to light, Adityanath immediately directed the Home Department and the state police chief to initiate stringent action against the duo.
All India Power Engineers Federation chairman Shailendra Dubey had earlier told reporters that only a CBI probe could find out the real culprits behind "this conspiracy to siphon off the hard-earned money of employees".
