Ministry denies Khusboo Yadav’s appointment as Jual Oram’s additional private secretary
ROURKELA: Controversy surrounding Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram’s district representative Khusboo Yadav refuses to die down. A fresh RTI reply from the ministry has denied her appointment as additional private secretary (APS) to the minister.
The APS role has been in murky waters. Earlier, Yadav told this paper that she had acted as APS for the minister for few months before her appointment was revoked on a technical ground. The minister, in a social media post on August 22, identified Yadav as his district representative, adding he wished to make her his APS, but it could not be done for some reasons.Yadav is consistently accused of enjoying government and other privileges by claiming to be the minister’s APS.
An activist, Naveen Gupta, through a RTI query on August 28 sought information from the Tribal Affairs ministry regarding appointment, authorisation, designation and official recognition of Yadav as the minister’s APS for the period January 1, 2024 till furnishing of the reply. Jual became tribal affairs minister for the third time in June 2024.The applicant asked for copies of record, order, notification, appointment letter or any other official document showing if Yadav was ever appointed, engaged, authorised, nominated or recognised by the ministry in any capacity including private secretary, APS, OSD, personal staff member, representative, consultant, advisor or any other person attached to a minister or the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and government expenditures incurred treating her as APS.Incidentally, the central public information officer (CPIO) to the ministry on September 14 disposed of the application, stating: “In so far as Establishment Division of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is concerned, no such information is available with regard to the information sought in the RTI application.”
In early 2025, also in another RTI application regarding Yadav’s status as APS, the ministry had replied no such information was available.On September 10, one Ratna Shisira Ray, identifying himself as a BJP member, had lodged a complaint at the RN Pali police station accusing Yadav of using her false official position for personal gains and getting access to the power corridors. A station diary entry was registered on the basis of Ray’s complaint. Yadav maintains the allegations against her are false and motivated.