Former governor Aziz Qureshi denied room at UP Sadan guest house

Qureshi, who has served as Governor of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Mizoram, later checked into a private hotel during his New Delhi visit between April 23 to 25. “For two days, they delayed my staff and later denied. I was not given a room in UP Sadan. Though embarassing, I will not complain to the state government,” Qureshi told The Indian Express.

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During his 30-day stint with additional charge of UP, Qureshi had cleared Mohammad Ali Jauhar University (Amendment) Bill 2007, which was pending for seven years, granting cabinet minister Azam Khan’s dream project a minority status. The amendment has also made de-recognition of the university difficult.

Qureshi’s personal assistant Satpal Malhotra told The Indian Express: “I first approached UP Bhawan but the staff told me that the guest house is not befitting the protocol of former governor and UP Sadan is the preferred choice. I went to UP Sadan and they despite knowing that former governor will stay, denied. I made several calls to Management Officer Naseem Akhtar who too refused stating that all rooms are occupied.”

Naseem Akhtar claimed that allotment is not in their hands and it is done from Lucknow. “We don’t do any room allotment, it is done from the Estate Department in Lucknow,” Akhtar said.

Malhotra then approached Leena Nandan, Resident Commissioner of UP in New Delhi but she also refused any help. “She did not even revert to my request and scolded the UP Sadan employees for providing me her number,” Malhotra said. Left with no choice, Qureshi checked in a private hotel for three days and later left for Bhopal.

According to sources, there is no written rule governing allotment of rooms for former governors in UP Sadan.