LUCKNOW: A day after income tax raids at Samajwadi Party associates across Uttar Pradesh, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday leveled a serious charge on the Yogi Adityanath government claiming the phones calls of his party leaders were being tapped. Akhilesh said that even his phone calls were also being tapped by the incumbent government.
He also hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accusing him personally of snooping on their phone conversations.
While interacting with media persons on Saturday, the SP chief said: “Our phones are being tapped. This includes calls made from the Samajwadi Party office and of people associated with us. The chief Minister himself listens to the recordings every evening. We have got a useless government. It is my warning to all of you that if you call me up, our calls will be tapped and recordings will be heard.”
Akhilesh claimed that phones tapping was going on the directives issued by the “useless” chief minister of this state.
“Wherever there are elections, the BJP taps phones of Opposition leaders...I am the one who is being targeted,” said the former CM of UP.
While talking to the media persons, the SP chief was accompanied by party’s national secretary and spokesperson Rajiv Rai, whose premises were raided by the IT sleuths in Mau district Saturday.
On Saturday, the Income Tax Department conducted searches at the houses of a SP leader and three others considered close to Akhilesh.
SP national general secretary and spokesperson Rajiv Rai’s house was searched by the I-T in Mau district.
Meanwhile, the SP chief also charged the CM with favouring a particular caste.
Claiming that the BJP was having the fear of defeat, Akhilesh said: “I have repeated this time and again that BJP has the fear of defeat so the visits of their leader from Delhi and CMs of other states will increase.”
The SP chief added that he had no doubt about the misuse of central agencies like CBI, ED, IT and others in the state ahead of polls.
“We will be on target of those agencies. So far, these agencies were being used to topple governments but now, they are being used to ensure that SP doesn’t form government in UP. The whole country knows that when the BJP smells defeat, these institutions come forward for action. The BJP is using the same tactics as the Congress,” said Akhilesh.
He also accused the Centre of protecting MoS Ajay Mishra Teni whose son Ashish Mishra is key accused in Lakhimpur KHeri violence.
“Allegations are there against him and his son. Then why does the government not punish him?”
However, later in the day, referring to the Income Tax searches, UP CM Yogi Adityanath defended the action on Sunday saying that he could understand why SP was “feeling the pain”.
He made the remark while addressing a public meeting before flagging off BJP’s ‘Jan Vishwas Yatra’ in Mathura.
“Did we ever imagine that someone’s assets will increase by 200 times? But we have seen this while the Samajwadi Party was in power,” the CM said.