The state government has decided to withdraw fake cases registered against Samajwadi Party workers during the previous Mayawati regime. The government has directed district magistrates and superintendents of police to expedite the process.
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had ordered the withdrawal of the cases to protect the honour of the party workers, said ruling Samajwadi Party state spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary. While he used the word 'fake' to describe the cases, RM Shrivastav, the principal secretary (home), described them as frivolous cases and added that their withdrawal was part of an ongoing process. Shrivastav said a committee of the home and the law departments had been examining such cases to recommend their withdrawal.
On his part, Chaudhury said the government had identified nearly 3,000 fake cases lodged against the party workers. He accused the previous regime of letting loose a reign of terror against the SP activists and misusing the SC/ST Act. Alleging that the bureaucracy was completely politicised during the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) regime, he claimed even senior IPS and IAS officers were involved in mobilising votes for the party. Even senior SP leaders were harassed, he alleged, adding that nearly 150 cases were lodged against party national chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in various districts immediately after installation of the Bahujan Samaj Party government in 2007.