Meeting with Bill Gates opens cyber gates for UP CM

Meeting with Bill Gates opens cyber gates for UP CM
AMIT SHARMA

LUCKNOW, SEPT 21: Like his Andhra counterpart Chandrababu Naidu, UP Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta too seems to have succumbed to the laptop bug. After a meeting with Microsoft chief Bill Gates alongwith 14 others CMs, Gupta has decided to introduce cyber governance in his state.

In a directive issued after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the Chief Minister has made it mandatory for all legislators to purchase a laptop out of the MLAs fund, earmarked for development of the region they represent on the pattern of the MP fund at the Centre.

Gupta's `unique' gift will cost the state exchequer between Rs 55 to 60 crore and another couple of crore will go towards computer training of the legislators, most of whom have lengthy criminal records in different police stations in the state.

Given the fact that Uttar Pradesh is cash-starved and the government finds it hard to pay salaries of its employees every month and is under debt of a whopping Rs 70,000 crore, the Chief Minister's decision is being seen in political circles as somewhat bizarre. A BJP leader summed it up nicely, ``in a state where there is no electricity, potable water and where several districts lack basic infrastructure, what is the logic behind in giving laptops to the MLAs, most of whom do not know the ABC of computers."

On his part, the CM said that rules providing for expenditure from the MLAs fund would be suitably amended because the fund (Rs 50 lakh) has certain guidelines which the legislators have to follow before directing for any development work in their respective region.

The decision on e-governance was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Gupta on Wednesday where the CM virtually steamrolled his way with none of the ministers present at the meeting uttering a single word of protest.

In what is being termed as post-Gates aftershocks on the CM, the cabinet meeting also decided to make improvements in the technical education policy of the state. A special emphasis will be given on the IT sector in the new technical education policy for which the private sector will be given impetus for setting up engineering institutes.