No interference from Centre, Yogi to have free hand in Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI: The PMO will "certainly not micromanage the Yogi Adityanath government in UP" and the chief minister will "completely independently run his own administration", top government officials and BJP heavyweights told ET.

Adityanath was in Delhi on Tuesday, meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top BJP leaders, and speaking in Parliament.

These officials and leaders, who spoke off record, said reports on central handholding of the incoming UP government were misleading. They also dismissed reports that Nripendra Misra, principal secretary to the PM, had been stationed in Lucknow overseeing state administration appointments.

"On the days that according to some media reports Misra was in Lucknow, he was actually in Delhi," an official said. "We were bemused at these reports." One top BJP leader said Modi and BJP president Amit Shah will be consulted for the most sensitive appointments — those of chief secretary and director-general of police — in this politically key state.

But the UP chief minister's suggestions will be key, and decisions will follow only after a consensus. "Nothing at all will be imposed on the CM," he said.

One senior official said the Centre will give broad policy ideas and given UP's importance, response time from Centre will be very quick in case the state administration seeks any opinion.

Yogi Adityanath will run his own administration and all other appointments will be his final call, another senior BJP leader said. He added that BJP-ruled states liaise with the party leadership and it will be no different for UP. "We don't micromanage in MP, why should we do it in UP," this leader said. Several BJP leaders, familiar with the thinking at the top level of the party, said the Adityanath government fully knows BJP's poll manifesto, written in close consultation with UP's BJP leadership that included the new CM, is the basic, initial guideline.

POLICY PRIORITIES
They also said the party leadership and the new CM share certain broad policy priorities. For example, taking a strong administrative stand against UP's mining mafia. A BJP study, a leader said, shows the UP government loses Rs 50,000 crore in revenue over a 5-year-period from illegal mining. A separate task force to tackle the mining mafia is a strong possibility.

This leader also said the Adityanath government's priorities will include quick and effective upgrade of UP 100 - an emergency police assistance helpline for citizens - and strong focus on policing for women's safety. These are part of BJP central leadership's suggestions. "All implementation and all big calls will be the CM's," a senior official said.

"Why should we interfere in the administration of our most important CM," a top BJP leader said.