New Delhi: Dinesh Khatik, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator in the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government, on Wednesday, July 20, tendered his resignation claiming, among other things, that he was being overlooked and discriminated against for his Dalit background.A letter dated July 19 and addressed to Union home minister Amit Shah (and, interestingly, not to chief minister Adityanath) was made public on Wednesday in which Khatik expressed his displeasure at being sidelined by the party and made repeated references to discrimination he faced, allegedly on the basis of his caste identity.#UttarPradesh Minister of State for Jal Shakti department #DineshKhatik, reportedly resigned from the #YogiAdityanath-led government in the state.Khatik, who represents the Hastinapur Assembly constituency in UP, sent his resignation letter to Union Home Minister #AmitShah. pic.twitter.com/cEsvtZ2xlg— IANS (@ians_india) July 20, 2022Khatik was initially made the minister of state for Jal Shakti by Adityanath in September last year and was given the post for the second time after the Adityanath government retained power in the assembly elections in the state in March this year.Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel is thought to have received a copy of Khatik’s resignation letter and forwarded the same to the chief minister, saying that she can only accept a minister’s resignation on the advice of chief minister Adityanath.Another prominent feature of the minister’s letter was that he alleged “a lot of corruption” in the transfers of officials. In the letter, Khatik details an alleged incident on July 9 when, “keeping in mind Adityanath’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy for corruption”, he sought details on irregularities he spotted in the transfers of officials. However, he claimed that these details were not made available to him and that when he insisted on getting these details during a phone call with the principal secretary of the Irrigation Department, the latter abruptly hung up on him.He further alleged widespread corruption in transfers in other departments too, and specifically mentioned the state chapter of the Namami Gange scheme to clean up the river Ganga and curb pollution into it, the Hindustan Times reported.Khatik’s allegations gain a special significance because they come at a time when Jitin Prasada, the minister of the Public Works Department (PWD) in the Adityanath government, is in the national capital to meet with BJP top brass amidst widespread allegations of transfers being made in exchange for cash in his department too.On Monday, Prasada’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Anil Kumar Pandey was removed and on Tuesday, Adityanath ordered the suspension of five officials – including the PWD head of department – for their alleged involvement in the transfers for money. Also read: UP: With OSD Removed and 5 Officers Suspended, Jitin Prasada Caught in Transfer-for-Money ControversySpeculation around Khatik’s resignation emerged last month, too, after Meerut police had filed a first information report (FIR) against one of his party workers. Khatik had, at the time, gone to Meerut seeking FIRs against two police constables who had allegedly beaten up the party worker, which was registered. However, a cross-FIR against the party worker was also registered, following which reports had surfaced that the minister was displeased. Khatik further alleged that since assuming charge of the Jal Shakti department for the second time, no responsibility has been bestowed upon him by the state government.“Yeh ek jan pratinidhi ka bahut bada apman hai… Mujhe vibhag mein abhi tak koi adhikar nahin diya gaya hai (This is the disrespect of a public representative… I have not been allocated responsibilities either in the Jal Shakti Department so far),” the Indian Express quoted Khatik’s resignation letter as saying.He also explicitly alleged in his letter that he was being discriminated against because he hails from the Dalit caste. He said that ‘lower castes’ support the BJP in Uttar Pradesh becasue of the policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, but if he was not given the opportunity to work for his community, he saw no point in continuing at his post.The alleged discrimination was condemned by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, a popular face of Dalit politics in the state, as well as by Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav.“Sometimes, the bulldozer moves backwards,” Yadav jibed, referring to Adityanath’s much-touted ‘bulldozer politics’.Further, Yadav alleged a pattern of corruption with regards to transfers in various departments of the state government, highlighting the allegations of corruption in the PWD as well as in the state Health Department.उप्र भाजपा सरकार में भ्रष्टाचार और कुशासन की क्रॉनॉलॉजी समझिए:– पहले लोक निर्माण विभाग के मंत्रालय में विद्रोह– फिर स्वास्थ्य मंत्रालय में विद्रोह– अब जल शक्ति मंत्रालय में विद्रोहजनता पूछ रही है, उप्र की भाजपा सरकार ईमानदारी से बताए… अब अगली बारी किसकी है?— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) July 20, 2022