CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: Lucknow. IAS officer Abhay Singh has been removed from the responsibility of election observer just ahead of the counting of votes in the Legislative Council election in Uttar Pradesh. The action followed a complaint by BJP rebel MLC Devendra Pratap Singh. Abhay Singh had been deployed as the election observer for the Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers’ constituency. The responsibility has now been assigned to 2009-batch IAS officer Prakash Bindu.
Who is IAS Abhay Singh? Abhay Singh is a senior IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre. According to media reports, he is a 2007-batch officer. He had been given the responsibility of observer in the Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers’ MLC election. His deployment came into focus when BJP MLC Devendra Pratap Singh questioned his appointment and filed a complaint with the Election Commission.
Devendra Pratap Singh had sent an email to the Election Commission on October 23, objecting to Abhay Singh’s appointment. In the complaint, he referred to a case registered by the CBI in the 2019 illegal mining matter and to cash allegedly recovered during a raid at the officer’s residence. Citing these points, the complainant raised questions about the fairness of the election process and demanded that Abhay Singh be removed from the observer’s post. However, the allegations made in the complaint are not in themselves proof of guilt.
According to reports that surfaced on October 26, the Commission removed Abhay Singh from election observer duty, placed him in reserve and appointed Prakash Bindu in his place. The change was made before the counting of votes scheduled for October 27. The Commission’s decision has intensified the political discussion around election monitoring and fairness.
Why is the matter important in the election atmosphere? The Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers’ constituency election has also been in focus because of the political contest between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party. Dhruv Kumar Tripathi is in the fray on a BJP ticket, while BJP leader Dr Sanjayan Tripathi, upset over not getting the ticket, is contesting as an independent candidate. In this situation, the decision to change the observer just ahead of counting is being seen as significant.
For now, Abhay Singh’s removal from the observer’s post is being viewed as administrative action taken after a complaint. Available reports do not provide complete information on the status of the allegations linked to the illegal mining case or any final conclusion in the matter. It is therefore important to distinguish between allegations and established facts.
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