At least 60 non-government advisers, chairpersons, deputy chairpersons and members in corporations, committees and departments were relieved of their duties in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday. The new dispensation under Chief Minister Adityanath issued a termination notice to the staff on Monday, PTI reported. State Chief Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar issued the notice on the chief minister’s orders.

The non-government staff enjoyed the status and benefits of a state minister. They were appointed by the previous Samajwadi Party government and included party workers as well as experts in various fields.

Following the Samajwadi Party’s defeat in the Assembly elections, 20 such employees had resigned, including former Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan who was adviser to the chief minister, chairperson of Urdu Academy Nawaz Deobandi and chief of Hindi Sansthan Uday Pratap Yadav. The others continued in their respective posts. “All principal secretaries, secretaries and officials have been asked to comply with the directive,” the circular read.

Earlier, Adityanath had said he would fulfill all the promises on the BJP’s manifesto and “work without discrimination”. “Our government will work towards employment of the youth in the state. We will surely work to improve the job crisis,” he had said during his first press conference as chief minister on Sunday.

Adityanath is known for his hardline Hindutva politics. In January, he had proposed a US-like immigration ban in India. The five-time MP from Gorakhpur constituency had also spoken about the alleged exodus from Kairana and promised to deal with the matter “strictly” once the BJP was in power.