SP, Congress assail BJP over CBI notice to Akhilesh Yadav

The CBI has asked Akhilesh Yadav to appear as a witness before it in connection with the illegal mining case registered in 2019.

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress on Wednesday attacked the BJP government over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summon to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to appear as a witness before it in connection with the illegal mining case registered in 2019.

.If anyone was taking on the BJP, it was the SP and they (BJP) were jittery, said Akhilesh. (HT FILE)

The first one to react was Akhilesh Yadav himself. Talking about the 2024 Lok Sabha polls at a television news channel’s event he said: “...If anyone is taking on the BJP, it’s the SP and they (BJP) are jittery. That’s why the SP is the top target...Though now I am making an out-of-context comment, in 2019 polls I got a notice, and again elections are approaching, and (I) got the notice again. So we know that when elections come, notice comes.”

SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chanda said: “Yes, the notice has come. The Samajwadi Party is getting legal opinion on it”.

Senior Congress leader and former Rudrapur MLA Akhilesh Pratap Singh said: “The CBI notice to the former UP chief minister and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav by the Modi government proves how distraught and disheartened the BJP is over its poll prospects. The BJP is scared of the INDIA bloc and the central government, through its investigation agencies, is trying to intimidate the INDIA bloc leaders, but now no one will be scared.”

UP Congress Committee president Ajay Rai told reporters in Lucknow: “The BJP is irritated over the cordial seat-sharing in UP between the SP and Congress. On the signal of the BJP, the notice has been sent to Akhilesh Yadav ji and this indicates how worked up the BJP is. Wherever elections take place, the ED, CBI, or IT are being misused to orchestrate breaking the opposition.”