Yogi-Akhilesh Lock Horns In State Assembly, UP CM Makes Personal Attack On Yadav

Accusing the opposition of harboring and garlanding criminals, the Uttar Pradesh CM lashed out at Akhilesh Yadav and his party after the opposition questioned the Yogi regime over the public killing of a murder case victim a day ago.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 25 February 2023 10:15 am

Yogi Adityanath

Following the opposition's uproar regarding the murder of a 2005 murder case key witness in UP's Prayagraj on Friday in broad daylight, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister lashed out at the Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav. During the state assembly on Saturday, Yogi accused SP of harboring criminals and even made a personal attack on Yadav, referring to his fallout with his father and politician, the late Mulayam Singh.

The heated exchange between the ruling party and opposition was irked by the killing of the witness in the 2005 murder case of a BSP MLA, a day ago. The attack also claimed the life of a police bodyguard to the witness while another has reportedly been injured and is undergoing treatment. The public killing of the victim was also caught on multiple CCTV cameras.

Harsh response from the Chief Minister after the opposition threw tough questions at the government over the public killing a day before. "Is it not true that Atiq Ahmed who has been accused by the victim's family, is part of the mafia fostered by the Samajwadi Party and we have only worked towards breaking its back?" Yogi Adityanath, pointing a finger at Yadav, said. "Speaker sir, he is the godfather of all professional criminals and mafia. They have crime in their veins... And I am telling this house today, we will run this mafia to the ground," he added with his finger constantly wagging at Yadav.

The CM's outburst was evident in his body language and speech in a rare occurring as the priest-politician has tried to do away with his public previous image, earlier shaped through his incendiary and provocative speeches as the founding leader of Hindu Yuva Vahini, a right-wing group. Yogi's response to sparked the assembly with the opposition charging at the CM and BJP government saying "Criminals are yours". Yadav also hit out the BJP's claims of Ram Rajya and double engine slogan for safety calling it a "total failure".

"There is daylight shooting, bombs are being hurled, and a witness is killed. What are the police doing? What is the government doing? Where are the double engines? Is this a film shooting," Yadav charged.

After a point, Adityanath lashed at Yadav saying "sharam toh tumhe karni chahiye, apne baap ki samman nahi kar paye tum (you should be ashamed, you couldn't respect even your father)", over the feud between the Samajwadi Party leader and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

CCTV footages reveal, on February 24, Umesh Pal, a poignant witness in the 2005 murder case of MLA Raju Pal, was shot dead by an unidentified man when he was getting out of the backseat of an SUV on the bustling main road of Prayagraj, one of the vast state's largest cities.

The incident has flattened the Adityanath government's repeated claims of improving the state's law and order, the Samajwadi Party said while linking the lapse with the BJP's growing proximity with Mayawati's BSP.?