UP teachers recruitment: Congress demands SC-monitored probe

Upping the ante against the Uttar Pradesh government over the alleged irregularities in 69,000 teachers recruitment and the fake teacher issue, the Congress on Thursday demanded a Supreme Court judge-monitored probe and job for the real Anamika Shukla, who is still unemployed.

Addressing a press conference through video conferencing, Congress leader Rajeev Shukla said, "Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi has been raising the issue of the teachers recruitment scam and she also spoke to the people who appeared for the examination while the government has not paid heed to the issue."

Rajeev Shukla said, "we also witnessed the issue of Anamika Shukla, as over 25 people were doing jobs impersonating her name."

"Meanwhile, the media highlighted that real Anamika Shukla is unemployed and she has no role in the entire issue. But despite that her documents were used to take jobs," Rajeev Shukla, a former Rajya Sabha MP said.

Priyanka Gandhi on June 9 had demanded the state government apologise to Anamika Shukla who is still unemployed. She had also likened the teachers' recruitment irregularity to the Vyapam scam of Madhya Pradesh. Real Anamika Shukla, in whose name a teacher in Uttar Pradesh was allegedly drawing salary from 25 places and had garnered more than ₹1 crore came forward on June 9.

After the scam was unearthed, Anamika Shukla went to meet officials on Tuesday in Gonda where she said she applied at many places but could not attend counselling.

Rajeev Shukla alleged that the racket has been going on in Uttar Pradesh for quite some time and the Congress has been demanding justice for Anamika Shukla, and said that now the Basic Education Minister Satish Dwivedi has also accepted that a racket was going on in the state.

"Dwivedi also accepted that Anamika Shukla's name was used by many people to take jobs. So what action is the state government going to take now?" Rajeev Shukla asked.

"We demand a probe by a Supreme Court judge for teachers recruitment and fake teacher scam to find out who all are involved," the Congress leader said, adding that even the issue of fake teachers came up in Lalitpur and Shrawasti districts of the state.

"It is the tip of the iceberg, this scam has been going on and no action is being taken," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered that the Special Task Force (STF) will now investigate the scam in recruitment of assistant teachers in the state.