BHOPAL: ‘Tainted’ Babu made OSD to new Labor Minister of Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal: LP Pathak, a senior labor department official accused in a corruption case, has been appointed officer on special duty (OSD) to Madhya Pradesh Labor Minister and senior BJP leader Prahlad Patel. On November 8, 2023, just nine days before the assembly elections in the state, the anti-corruption watchdog in MP—the Lokayukta Special Police Establishment—approached the Principal Secretary (Labor) for sanction to prosecute the Deputy Labor Commissioner (Labor Office). Was written to. Indore) in the LP Pathak 2014 corruption case. The letter written by the Director General (Lokayukta Special Police Establishment) to the PS (Labour) mentioned that after investigation of the related corruption case, the allegations of corruption against Pathak were prima facie found to be true. Due to this, the anti-corruption watchdog had sought sanction from the state labor department to prosecute Pathak in court in the 2014 case. The correspondence seeking official sanction of the state government to prosecute the Deputy Labor Commissioner in the 2014 corruption case came when the Model Code of Conduct was in force for the Assembly elections. However, exactly two months later, on January 9, 2024, Pathak was assigned the duty as OSD to newly appointed state Labor Minister Prahlad Patel. Apart from assuming the responsibility of OSD to the Minister, Pathak will continue to hold his previous responsibilities as Deputy Labor Commissioner. Patel, a former MP and former Union minister, was one of the seven MPs fielded by the BJP in the November 17, 2023 assembly elections and is currently one of the senior-most ministers in the Mohan Yadav-led cabinet. His ministerial portfolios include Panchayat and Rural Development apart from Labor Department. According to official data from the state anti-corruption watchdog, 279 government employees were caught allegedly taking bribes in 2022, 11% more than the corresponding figure of 252 in 2021. According to the data, the number of accused in corruption cases is under consideration. There has been a 26% increase in cases in courts due to delays in government approval to investigate and prosecute employees in corruption cases. 2014 case Deputy Labor Commissioner (Labour Office-Indore) LP Pathak was involved in a 2014 corruption case. On November 8, 2023, just nine days before the assembly elections in the state, the anti-corruption watchdog in MP – the Lokayukta Special Police Establishment – wrote to the Principal Secretary (Labour) seeking approval to prosecute Pathak. However, two months later, he was assigned as OSD to the minister