After PM Narendra Modi`s order, MP Priyanka Rawat removes father as representative

Zee Media Bureau/Tarun Khanna

New Delhi: Following the guidelines in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed his MPs not to have relatives as personal staff, the BJP MP from Barabanki, Priyanka Singh Rawat, on Sunday did a U-turn after appointing her father as her representative on May 26. Rawat, who had earlier officially appointed her father,Uttam Ram, a retired Provincial Development Services officer, as her representative, and an authority to conduct all government and development work, today said that her relatives will not be included in her staff. “My father or kins will not be appointed as my representative,” said Rawat. Her decision came after Modi called her and asked not to appoint any relative as personal staff. Modi has asked ministers to refrain from awarding government contracts to family members and relatives. Moreover, he wants his team to practice probity in public dealing. The previous UPA government had triggered a controversy as Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal`s nephew was arrested in an alleged cash-for-postings scam. He had hired a distant relative as his officer on special duty.