Lucknow lite: Akhilesh's vow to take vengeance and bonanza for Kashi priests

Hell has no fury as Akhilesh Yadav scorned and the Samajwadi Party leader confirmed as much. While Lucknow’s political grapevine is never short of leaks and gossip, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav stunned people by lashing out at a retired IAS officer.

He has a sharp tongue at the worst of times but even then, people were caught by surprise at the vehemence with which he vowed to settle a score with the former bureaucrat. The powerful former bureaucrat, Avanish Awasthi, whose middle name is ‘controversy’, is widely known as a close confidant of chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

While reminding everyone of the infamous 'toti chor' episode of 2017, when BJP won the election and installed Yogi as CM to replace him, Akhilesh recalled the stories that were planted in the media to embarrass him. Taps allegedly went missing from the chief minister’s residence after he had vacated it.

According to him, this was no petty plumbing problem but a full-blown conspiracy hatched by Awasthi and his team to sully his image. “I will never forgive this insult,” thundered Akhilesh, promising that one day the score will be settled.

The remarks have triggered more than a splash in UP politics. BJP leaders have rushed to defend Awasthi, calling the attack an insult to the Brahmin community. Sunil Bharala wasted no time in declaring that the community stands solidly with Awasthi, turning what began as political one-upmanship and alleged corruption into a caste and community debate. Only in Uttar Pradesh can bathroom fixtures generate such political heat, quipped a wag.

For those unfamiliar with the back story, here is a quick recap. In 2017, photos circulated showing broken tiles, stripped wires and, most infamously, missing taps from the CM’s bungalow vacated by Akhilesh. The BJP had a field day painting the outgoing CM as 'toti chor'. The label stuck in political folklore and haunted Akhilesh Yadav for years.

Awasthi, once the all-powerful Principal Secretary (Home), continues to wield influence as Yogi’s OSD after retirement. His proximity to the CM has kept him in the political spotlight, making him an easy punching bag for Akhilesh’s ire.

This war of words has now added a fresh twist to UP’s political theatre. On one side is Akhilesh, trying to rewrite the “toti” narrative. On the other is Awasthi, a bureaucrat-turned-Yogi confidante, enjoying the protection of a government unwilling to let any suggestion of criticism go unanswered.

Everybody expects Yogi and Awasthi to retaliate and people are holding their breath for the next round while speculating the form it might take. Nothing like a good after-dinner session of gossip to round up the day.

Yogi gateway to private schools

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been busy showcasing his government’s achievements in transforming government schools in the state. If schools made Arvind Kejriwal’s political fortune, why not in UP? The chief minister’s Janata Darshan events are telling a different story though. There is often a steady stream of children allowed to appear before him turning up before him with seemingly one common plea — admission to private schools.

Six-year-old Mayra from Kanpur told the chief minister that she wanted to be a doctor and insisted on studying in a private CBSE school. Her mother tried but failed, until the little girl was allowed to approach the CM himself.

Yogi was sweetness personified as he chatted with the girl and offered her chocolates. He also asked his aides to ensure the child’s admission in a desired school. This was confirmed within hours.

While it gave a positive spin and offered people the softer side of the Yogi, eyebrows went up at the peremptory procedure followed. One unspoken question lingered: if UP’s government schools are truly world-class, why was the child so determined to go to a private school? The chief minister did not ask.

This was not an isolated case. In Moradabad, young Vachi made a similar request. In Gorakhpur, Pankhuri not only got admission but also a fee waiver after the CM’s order. The pattern is unmistakable. Children are not asking for a seat in the nearest government primary school with freshly painted walls and midday meals. They are asking for English-medium classrooms, branded uniforms, and the promise of better futures that private schools still seem to offer.

Officials dutifully followed the CM’s instructions, and families showered praise. But the irony could not be missed in the corridors of power. For all the noise about smart classrooms, free tablets, and improved learning outcomes, parents still believe private schools are the real ticket to success. One bureaucrat was overheard quipping, “Our model schools are running on government advertisements. The private ones are running on parents’ trust.”

Of course, Yogi Adityanath’s interventions win him applause and instant headlines. But they also underline a quiet failure: if citizens must approach the Chief Minister himself for school admissions, it says less about the efficiency of governance and more about the lack of faith in the public education system.

The UP government has spent crores projecting its schools as temples of learning. Yet, at the Janata Darshan, every child seems to be chanting the same mantra: “Private school, please.”

Bonanza for priests in Kashi

At Kashi Vishwanath Dham, change has finally come—not in rituals or chants, but in salary slips. For the first time since 1983, the priests and staff of one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines will enjoy the privileges of being treated like state government employees. Their monthly pay, which hovered around Rs 30,000, will now nearly treble, putting them on par with government staff across Uttar Pradesh. The pay and perks will be paid by the Trust, which clearly can afford to pay almost one lakh of Rupees every month to each of the priests.

For a temple that sees lakhs of pilgrims each year, the service conditions of its priests had remained frozen in time. The gods may have been timeless, but the pay scales certainly were not. That wait of over four decades ended at the Trust’s 108th meeting, a number considered as auspicious as the decision itself.

The reforms go beyond salaries. Staff will now enjoy benefits long denied to them—identity cards, dearness allowance hikes, rationalised honorarium, and a structured service framework. The temple administration has finally acknowledged that priests too deserve dignity, not just devotion.

The Trust also approved a string of projects designed to make the shrine more accessible and modern. A Vedic education institute will come up on temple land in Mirzapur, a direct passage will link Kashi Vishwanath Dham with the Vishalakshi Mata temple, and the Sankat Haran Hanuman temple in Sarnath will see new development.

The cowshed is getting a facelift, while the control room and surveillance network will be modernised to keep the dham under watch round the clock. Even the distribution of laddu prasad and rudraksha malas is being reworked to avoid long queues and chaos.

The decision marks a turning point in temple administration in Uttar Pradesh. In most states, priests remain dependent on temple income or wait endlessly for recognition. Telangana is the only other state where notified temple staff receive government pay scales. By moving its most iconic shrine’s staff onto the payroll, Uttar Pradesh has set a precedent.

For Kashi’s priests, the divine may continue to reside in rituals, but dignity has finally arrived through something as earthly as a salary slip.

(The writer is a senior journalist based in New Delhi)