Lucknow, Jan 4 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai on Saturday challenged the Yogi Adityanath government to sack corruption-accused Technical Education Minister Ashish Patel.

He also said that if Ashish Patel, a member of Apna Dal (Sonewal), is innocent then he must break the alliance with the BJP.

Also Read | SBI SCO Recruitment 2025: Applications Open For 150 Trade Finance Officers Posts at sbi.co.in, Know Steps to Apply.

Ashish Patel was accused by Pallavi Patel, an MLA from Sirathu representing the Samajwadi Party and a leader of the Apna Dal (Kameravadi), of corruption in the appointment of department heads in the Technical Education department.

She accused officials of bypassing current service rules in favour of older ones to facilitate the appointments.

Also Read | January 4 Birthdays and Birth Anniversaries: Know About Famous People and Celebrities Born on January 4.

Pallavi Patel is the elder sister of Apna Dal (Sonewal) national president Anupriya Patel.

Rai, while talking to journalists at the Congress headquarters here, said, "If Ashish Patel has committed corruption, then Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should show courage and dismiss him from his cabinet."

He added, "If he is right and the government, STF and Information Department are harassing him together and if he has even a little self-respect, then he and Anupriya Patel should immediately leave this insulting BJP government."

Ashish Patel had on Thursday alleged that he was under threat of an attack from the Special Task Force, a state police unit.

"Those who are afraid and have done something wrong resign. Sack me, if you want but I will not resign," Patel had said.

He also parried the corruption charges saying there was a "larger conspiracy" behind them.

Rai alleged that the Adityanath government has indulged in corruption ever since it came to power in the state.

He said that there has been no investigation into the Ashish Patel matter is an indication of a cover-up.

Anupriya Patel, Ashish Patel's wife, earlier said the party would fight the accusations.

"Conspiracy against any worker will not be tolerated, and we will give a befitting reply to the conspirators," she said.

Apna Dal (S) has been a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)