Ensure clean image of the party: Akhilesh to ministers

Lucknow: Apparently with an eye on the 2014 general elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday asked his ministers to comply with a set of directives to ensure a clean image of the party.

In a letter to his cabinet colleagues, Yadav asked them to announce their assets and also of their family members, apart from refraining from accepting costly gifts and attending high-profile functions.

Reacting to the move, a senior leader said Yadav was forced to give these instructions in writing as no leader volunteered after the chief minister's initiative in this regard, "except a few".

In a letter to his cabinet colleagues, Akhilesh asked them to announce their assets and also of their family members.

The move comes at a time when the party was under attack from the opposition, which is accusing it of patronising "goonda elements".

Yadav asked them to file declarations by March 31 every year, and also set a deadline of July 31 for this year's announcement, sources said.

The chief minister also asked them not to involve in land deals and businesses, and inform the CM office in this regard if necessary.

The letter also directed ministers to stay in government rest houses instead of private hotels during tours and not to accept things like garlands of currency notes during public functions, beside asking them to avoid attending programmes without verifying about their organisers.

Akhilesh, who and his MP wife Dimple had uploaded details of their assets on state government's website in March, directed his cabinet colleagues to deposit expensive gifts and crowns worth over Rs 5,000 in state treasury.

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