BJP slams Akhilesh over SC order against tainted Minister

Hours after the Supreme Court ordered the Uttar Pradesh police to file an FIR against Transport Minister Gayatri Prajapati in an alleged rape case, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of shielding the tainted minister all these years.

Vijay Bahadur Pathak, state general secretary of the BJP, said the order of the apex court not only showed the mirror to the Chief Minister and the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) it also vindicated that there was complete anarchy in the state under the SP regime.

"It is not only sad but shocking that a rape accused not only made it to the cabinet but has also enjoyed complete protection and patronage of Akhilesh Yadav who misses no opportunity to portray himself as a Mr Clean," the BJP leader said while questioning how did Gayatri get ticket this time and has been out of the long hands of law.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said many times that police stations in the state have become "homes to SP goons", the state general secretary said, adding that the people had now got more proof on how the SP government was functioning in the last five years. The fact that the Chief Minister kickstarted the state assembly election campaign from Prajapati's constituency also speaks volumes, he added.

The Supreme Court on Friday, in a matter pertaining to a petition by a rape victim had ordered the UP police to lodge an FIR against Prajapati, whose acts of omission and commission during his tenure as the state's Mining Minister was also under scrutiny. Known for his proximity to SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, he was initially detested by the 43-year-old Chief Minister but their relationship seems to have turned a new leaf of late.

He was sacked by the Akhilesh Yadav last year from his cabinet only to reinstate him within days. The BJP has also demanded that the rape victim be provided adequate security by the police.

--IANS

md/rn