LUCKNOW: BJP leader and former director general of Uttar Pradesh Police Brij Lal on Tuesday charged the Samajwadi Party (SP) with fielding "goons, rioters and history-sheeters" in the upcoming assembly elections.
Taking a set of names of the SP candidates allegedly with criminal backgrounds, Lal sought an explanation from the party chief Akhilesh Yadav for fielding them.
"By giving tickets to goons and rioters, the SP has made its intention of bringing back goondraj and dangaraj (rule of goons and rioters) clear. These history-sheeters have been fielded with the intention of pulling votes by intimidating the people of the state," Brij Lal, a Rajya Sabha MP, told reporters here.
He said the SP candidates had entered the fray in order to rob the poor through schemes meant for their welfare and these candidates had Yadav's open protection.
Reacting to SP leader Azam Khan's son Abdullah Azam accompanying Yadav at a press conference earlier in the day, Lal said he had lost his seat because of a fraud and was out on bail in 43 cases.
"His father (MP Azam Khan) is part of a major land mafia in the state. Khan has robbed the honest youth of government jobs and is himself in jail (Sitapur)," Lal said.
Taking names of a few other SP candidates -- Nahid Hasan from Kairana, Aslam Chaudhary from Dhaulana, Haji Yunus from Bulandshahr, Rafiq Ansari from Meerut, Madan Bhaiya from Loni, Amarpal from Sahibabad, Dilnawaz from Sayana -- Lal asked, "Who are these people? This is a list of history-sheeters, gangsters and vicious criminals."
Seeking an answer from Yadav, Lal said, "What message does he want to give to the people of the state by taking Moharram Ali Pappu, the accused mastermind in the Saharanpur riots, in the party?" The former DGP said only an honest government could ensure security to the common man and this was possible only under the BJP rule.
"Welfare of the poor is possible only by a full majority government of the BJP, which is working rigorously under the leadership of Narendra Modi at the Centre and Yogi Adityanath in the state," Lal said.