Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday urged new appointees of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission to be ready to fight corruption, calling it a barrier to development and alleging that previous dispensations deployed corrupt individuals who made the system hollow.
Adityanath was speaking at a programme during which he handed over appointment letters to 700 candidates selected by the commission as a part of Mission Rozgar.
"You will have a period of 30-35 years to demonstrate your ability and capability in front of society. Put your ego aside and work for the welfare of people," an official release quoted him as saying.
He further said, "Uttar Pradesh was not backward just like that. Dishonest and corrupt people ... were engaged in making the whole of Uttar Pradesh hollow. We have to be ready to strike a big blow on corruption. Casteism, corruption and discrimination are the biggest obstacles to development."
Adityanath insisted that the new officers must be prepared to combat corruption.
"If we encourage corrupt individuals, then the situation will deteriorate. In the past, corrupt individuals were deployed everywhere, damaging the system," he remarked.
Adityanath became chief minister after the BJP assumed power in 2017, taking over from Akhilesh Yadav and the Samajwadi Party government. Before Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati led the state government.
Stressing that arrogance in dealing with the people would work against the officers, Adityanath said, "Now, if you are a deputy collector and you refuse to interact with the people, it would work against you."
He said, "Within the last one-and-a-half years, this is the 21st distribution of appointment letters which has taken place. By completing the appointment process in less than 10 months, the Public Service Commission has set a new standard of fairness, transparency, and cleanliness."
The chief minister emphasised that there has been no casteism or nepotism, neither considerations for region or language, in the recruitment process in the past six years.
"Only those who qualify will be selected," he noted.
Adityanath also claimed that Uttar Pradesh is moving towards becoming a significant economic force in the nation after recovering from the status of a BIMARU state.
"Today, Uttar Pradesh is moving towards becoming a USD 1 trillion economy. According to NITI Aayog figures, 5.5 crore people have got out of the shackles of poverty," he added.
