Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers in Uttar Pradesh are up in arms against Chief Minister Mayawati for her 'arbitrary punitive action' against senior bureaucrats and police officers.

Mayawati had ordered the suspension of over a dozen IAS and IPS officers during the recent week-long divisional level review of development schemes and the law and order situation.

At an extraordinary general meeting of the UP IAS Association in Lucknow on Sunday afternoon, in an unprecedented move, the association passed a formal resolution declaring the suspension of the IAS and IPS officers by Mayawati as 'illegal'.

The meeting was well attended despite Mayawati's covert efforts to dissuade officers.

"The state government has not cared to follow the prescribed legal procedure as laid down in the all India service rules. The fundamental principle of giving the concerned officials an opportunity to show cause has been blatantly ignored," said G B Patnaik, the secretary of the association.

Demanding immediate revocation of the suspensions, Patnaik said, "If our demand is not conceded, we would be compelled to move the courts."

Mayawati had initially managed to contain the brewing resentment among these officers by winning over the association president A K Rastogi, who is also the chairman of the UP Revenue Board, and later by attempting to divide the elite cadre along caste lines.

At Sunday's meeting, Rastogi was isolated when two young IAS officers openly demanded his resignation for indulging in 'anti-cadre' activities. It was pointed out that Rastogi himself is facing not just corruption charges, but also those of moral turpitude.

In another move to divide the IAS and IPS officers, who had come together following the spate of recent suspensions, barely 24 hours before Sunday's meeting, Mayawati had taken everyone by surprise by revoking the suspension of two deputy inspectors general of police (DIGs).

However, so far, Mayawati's divide-and-rule strategy has failed to show the desired result.

More reports from Uttar Pradesh