Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Aditynath on Saturday said family members of one of the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts convicts were seen with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav asking for votes.
Adityanath, who has been aggressively campaigning for BJP candidates across poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, made the statement during a rally in Pilibhit, according to an news agency input.
A day ago, a court in Gujarat awarded a death sentence to 38 convicts of the serial blasts that led to the death of 56 people. Another 11 convicts were sentenced to life in jail.
Referring to the court’s Friday ruling, the UP chief minister said, “An Ahmedabad court pronounced the quantum of sentence for 38 terrorists in the (2008) serial blasts case. Capital punishment and life imprisonment were awarded. They included some terrorists from UP too. And, the family of one of them was seen with the SP chief asking for votes for the party.”
He said supporting the Samajwadi Party meant extending support to terrorists, adding that while everything changed, the Mulayam Singh Yadav-founded party remained the same.
“You can imagine. Nayi hawa hai, wahi SP hai. SP ka haath, aatankwadiyon ke saath. This has been proven once again,” Adityanath was quoted as saying by news agency.
He also went back to his oft-repeated comments on how lawlessness prevailed during the previous regimes and that police stations were ruled by history-sheeters, while comparing the present scenario under his rule.
“During previous governments’ rule, ‘anndata’ (farmers) used to die by suicide, the poor used to die of starvation, there was jungle raj, criminals overpowered the authority and police stations were run by history-sheeters, businessmen were destroyed, youth was unemployed,” he added.