LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday sacked state minister for mining Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and panchayati raj minister Raj Kishore Singh from his cabinet. The opposition parties have however described the sacking of the ministers as a mere eyewash ahead of the 2017 assembly elections. Prajapati initially inducted as minister of state for irrigation in Akhilesh cabinet was later made the minister for mining, reportedly at the behest of the SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Action against Panchayati Raj minister Raj Kishore Singh followed allegations of land grabbing levelled against him by people from his assembly constituency of Basti. Minister for horticulture and food processing Moolchand Chauhan will now head mining department, while social welfare minister Ram Govind Chaudhary will have the additional charge of Panchayati Raj.

Source: Times of India September 12, 2016 09:45 UTC