CBI action attempt to stall SP-BSP alliance: Congress

The Congress on Monday alleged that the Modi government was trying to foil an alliance between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh by using the CBI against former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in the alleged illegal mining case.

"They did not spare any of the opposition parties be it Congress, NCP, RJD, TMC, DMK, TDP and others in the last four-and-a-half years. Now they have started doing the same with Samajwadi Party. They are trying to stall the alliance between the SP and the BSP," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters outside Parliament.

He said the CBI action, ahead of the coming Lok Sabha polls, was an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to threaten the opposition parties.

"Today democracy is in danger. We condemn the CBI action against (Samajwadi Party leader) Akhilesh Yadav. The country is not going to tolerate this kind of dictatorship," he said.

Azad said opposition parties had joined hands in the past against Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi but they never treated opposition the way the the current ruling dispensation was treating those opposed to it.

The CBI on Saturday searched 14 locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, including the residence of a woman IAS officer, a SP leader and a BSP leader, in connection with its investigation into a case of illegal sand mining, with sources saying the role of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who held the portfolio of mining, will also be probed.

--IANS

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