The BJP on Monday ridiculed the decision of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to sack two Ministers facing corruption charges, saying it was an eyewash after the High Court ordered a CBI probe into the alleged mining scandal.
Pointing out that the Court’s observation implicates top functionaries of the State Government in the mining scam, the BJP said it amounts to a slap on the face of the Yadav Government.
The two sacked UP Ministers, Gayatri Prajapati and Rajkishore Singh, alleged BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma collected money and were close to the Chief Minister.
Sharma charged the Akhilesh Government of “looting the entire State” through Prajapati who is a mere pawn and “the real face is that of Akhilesh Yadav and his family”. The BJP Secretary said it is to save the family that Akhilesh sacked the two Ministers.
The BJP leader said all these years, the Akhilesh Government protected these mafias who were serving the family and earning money on behalf of the Chief Minister. He said the SP leaders, workers and Ministers grabbed the Government land wherever it was possible. The BJP leader cited the example of ‘Jawahar Bagh scandal’ to prove that SP had close nexus with land mafia.
At a Press conference, Sharma said the decision to sack the Ministers has come too late in the day after the Samajwadi Party Government “looted” the State for five years and proved to be a “failure on all fronts”.
He said the court had rejected the Government’s contention that a CBI probe was not required and observed that “those in the Government also seemed to be involved in this”. If Yadav has any sense of morality, he should resign, Sharma demanded.
“After looting the State for five years the Chief Minister is doing it for publicity in TV and radio. It will be an unsuccessful attempt to cover up the failure of corrupt Government under which crime ruled the roost and education, health and road sectors collapsed,” he said.