Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Daya Shankar Singh on Wednesday (August 6, 2025) publicly scolded a Public Works Department (PWD) engineer for opening a newly constructed bridge in his constituency without informing him.
Mr. Singh accused the engineer of acting with a political motive, indirectly hinting that the issue is linked to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA from Rasra, Umashankar Singh, though he didn’t name anyone.
“Are you contesting elections from here? Is the BSP giving you a ticket? Maybe the MLA is helping you get one. Don’t lose your mind. I am the MLA and the minister here. You opened the bridge without informing me. I know with whom you’re working,” the minister said in the video.
The incident reportedly happened past midnight on August 6 when the Minister visited the bridge over the Kathar Nala in Ballia.
Later talking to reporters, Mr. Singh added the executive engineer had previously claimed that the bridge could not be opened due to pending formal testing and lack of administrative approval, despite repeated requests. “I would raise the matter with higher authorities. How can any officer in this government wield such power? He is ignoring the minister; he may be getting some protection from someone above,” said Mr. Singh.
