BJP govt trying to defame SP for vote bank politics ahead of bypolls: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday, 5 August, alleged the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is trying to defame his party for vote bank politics ahead of Assembly bypolls.

No matter what the BJP may do, people have lost hope from it and its "safaya'' (wipeout) is certain, Yadav added.

The former UP chief minister also alleged that the BJP's thinking about Muslims is "undemocratic".

When asked about the Ayodhya rape case, Yadav said, "Before the by-elections (to be held on 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh), the BJP wants to conspire and their aim from the very first day has been to defame the 'samajwadis' (socialists). Especially, their thinking about Muslims is undemocratic."

He was talking to reporters after paying tribute to socialist leader Janeshwar Mishra, popularly known as 'Chhote Lohia', on his birth anniversary.

Referring to the Ayodhya incident, he said, "There is a revised law that came in 2023 in the BJP government which says that if a crime with a provision of more than seven years of punishment has been committed, then a DNA test should be done. So what wrong demand has the Samajwadi Party made?

"The police there also know the truth. There are many officers who are saying that we have to save our jobs, what should we do?"

Yadav had on Saturday sparked a controversy with his demand for a DNA test of the two men accused of raping a 12-year-old girl who became pregnant.

In the wake of his remark, the BJP accused the SP of defending a "paedophile" and showing its "boys will be boys" mentality.

He further alleged, "There is so much pressure on the officials that they cannot deliver justice. The BJP is discriminating because it sees vote politics. No matter how much the BJP people do, now the public has no hope left from them.

"And when the hope from a political party ends, then understand that their 'safaya' (wipeout) is certain (in elections). The BJP people have lost badly in the Lok Sabha elections. People will defeat them in an even worse way in the next election."

Targeting chief minister Yogi Adityanath, he said, "If a yogi does not believe in democracy, then he cannot be a yogi. There was an incident in Hathras in which BJP MLAs and leaders had written for permission for the programme of a saint, but the security and other things that the administration should have arranged were not done, which resulted in a stampede in which a large number of people lost their lives."

Referring to the statement given by the chief minister in the state Assembly regarding the Gomti Nagar incident, in which a woman was groped, he said, "If the police had given the full list of the accused, then why did the chief minister read out only the names of a Yadav and a Muslim?"

The SP chief alleged the Yadav whose name was read out was not seen in the CCTV camera footage, but the police sent him to jail.