Dadri killing: BJP alleges cover-up by SP government

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday hit out at Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav over his claims that three BJP members were involved in the Dadri lynching episode and termed it as an attempt to “cover up” the failures of the Uttar Pradesh government.

“The statement was made to deflect the attention of people from real problems of the state ahead of the polls. The law and order has worsened under the Samajwadi Party rule,” BJP’s national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

BJP’s reaction came after Yadav claimed that at least three men involved in the Dadri killing belonged to the the party and he can reveal their names if Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to.

“The government’s own figures say that crime against women has increased by 50% in the state. At least 22 cases of rape have been reported in which policemen were involved and there have been 622 attacks on police by goons. The party should rather focus on improving its governance than blaming others,” Sharma said.

He said the report submitted by the state administration to the central government on the Dadri lynching does not talk about any “conspiracy” or “beef”. “So how can they give such statements now... It shows their frustration and fear of losing power,” he said. He wondered whether the report was wrong or the claim made by Yadav was incorrect.

Meanwhile in Lucknow, state BJP spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak dared Yadav to name the persons behind the lynching incident and take action against them. He accused the SP chief of doing “dirty politics” on the Dadri issue.

Pathak alleged that Yadav was blaming the BJP just to create doubt in the minds of the minority community as he was scared of his shifting vote-bank. “Yadav is well aware that minorities are tilting towards the BJP due to welfare and development works being done by the Modi government,” he said.

In September last year, 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq was beaten to death and his son Danish seriously injured after being attacked by a mob on rumours of beef-consumption.