Officers snap out of naps in taskmaster Yogi’s class
LUCKNOW: It's 15 minutes past midnight and police personnel have been waiting since 6 pm for chief minister Aditya Nath Yogi's fleet to arrive at his 5, Kalidas Marg bungalow.
"Aisi duty to kabhi nahi ki (have never done such tough duty)," said a constable slumped on the roadside near Shastri Bhawan, the office of the chief minister where he was conferring with ministers, secretaries and principal secretaries late Monday night. Not only the policemen outside the CM's office, a number of state officials and their subordinates inside Shastri Bhawan were equally drained out, working past midnight.
Prior to Yogi, it was only Mulayam Singh Yadav who worked till the wee hours during his term as chief minister in 1989-90, holding a series of meetings almost everyday with police and administrative officers, drawing a strategy to counter the resurgent BJP-VHP-RSS-Bajrang Dal combine during Ayodhya movement.
No other CM spent so much time in the office, instead, most of them chose to function from their residence and for very few hours. Except when she was chairing the cabinet meetings, former CM Mayawati hardly stayed in the annexe as her government was run virtually by her secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh. Mayawati was known to work from her residence and officers are known to dread the times they were called there and asked to take off their shoes before meeting her.
Barring cabinet meetings and meeting official delegations, Yogi's predecessor Akhilesh Yadav worked mostly from his official residence. Akhilesh probably was the most bureaucrat-friendly CM of the state as there was no pressure on him to perform. Instead, he played cricket and soccer with them.
Sudden change in style of functioning of the CM has taken everyone off guard. Addressing his first meeting as the CM in Gorakhpur on March 27, Yogi had warned that only those who can function for 18-20 hours daily will stay with him.
"Mujhe heart problem hai aur main apni dava bhi nahi laya (I have the heart problem and haven't even brought my medicine and it is late night)," remarked a secretary level officer after the meeting. For top officials of the state, the new CM may spell trouble as those who are used to spending the evening in clubs may have to be in office till late evening.
Yogi has proved to be a tough taskmaster for his ministers too. Minister of state with Independent charge for women and child welfare Anupama Jaiswal realised it when she failed to arrive at the meeting with a presentation. "Yeh sab nahin chalega (This will not be allowed)," cautioned the CM, warning at the same time other ministers who reached late.
It was half-an-hour past midnight by the time he had watched the presentation by over half a dozen departments. He praised the skill development and vocational training department for "best presentation" and warned that performance of the ministers will decide their promotion or demotion. Addressing ministers and top officials, he said he wanted drastic changes in the system.
"During holidays, teachers should call students to school and teach them about great personalities and their contributions and role in Indian history," said Yogi, adding that on occasions like birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap, they should be taught about the life, times and achievements of the great Rajput king to develop a sense of nationalism.
The chief minister said he was in favour of student union elections but they should be held in all the universities on the same day.
To improve the quality of education, he recommended uniform syllabus for all universities.
"Aisi duty to kabhi nahi ki (have never done such tough duty)," said a constable slumped on the roadside near Shastri Bhawan, the office of the chief minister where he was conferring with ministers, secretaries and principal secretaries late Monday night. Not only the policemen outside the CM's office, a number of state officials and their subordinates inside Shastri Bhawan were equally drained out, working past midnight.
Prior to Yogi, it was only Mulayam Singh Yadav who worked till the wee hours during his term as chief minister in 1989-90, holding a series of meetings almost everyday with police and administrative officers, drawing a strategy to counter the resurgent BJP-VHP-RSS-Bajrang Dal combine during Ayodhya movement.
No other CM spent so much time in the office, instead, most of them chose to function from their residence and for very few hours. Except when she was chairing the cabinet meetings, former CM Mayawati hardly stayed in the annexe as her government was run virtually by her secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh. Mayawati was known to work from her residence and officers are known to dread the times they were called there and asked to take off their shoes before meeting her.
Barring cabinet meetings and meeting official delegations, Yogi's predecessor Akhilesh Yadav worked mostly from his official residence. Akhilesh probably was the most bureaucrat-friendly CM of the state as there was no pressure on him to perform. Instead, he played cricket and soccer with them.
Sudden change in style of functioning of the CM has taken everyone off guard. Addressing his first meeting as the CM in Gorakhpur on March 27, Yogi had warned that only those who can function for 18-20 hours daily will stay with him.
"Mujhe heart problem hai aur main apni dava bhi nahi laya (I have the heart problem and haven't even brought my medicine and it is late night)," remarked a secretary level officer after the meeting. For top officials of the state, the new CM may spell trouble as those who are used to spending the evening in clubs may have to be in office till late evening.
Yogi has proved to be a tough taskmaster for his ministers too. Minister of state with Independent charge for women and child welfare Anupama Jaiswal realised it when she failed to arrive at the meeting with a presentation. "Yeh sab nahin chalega (This will not be allowed)," cautioned the CM, warning at the same time other ministers who reached late.
It was half-an-hour past midnight by the time he had watched the presentation by over half a dozen departments. He praised the skill development and vocational training department for "best presentation" and warned that performance of the ministers will decide their promotion or demotion. Addressing ministers and top officials, he said he wanted drastic changes in the system.
"During holidays, teachers should call students to school and teach them about great personalities and their contributions and role in Indian history," said Yogi, adding that on occasions like birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap, they should be taught about the life, times and achievements of the great Rajput king to develop a sense of nationalism.
The chief minister said he was in favour of student union elections but they should be held in all the universities on the same day.
To improve the quality of education, he recommended uniform syllabus for all universities.
