Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 31 (ANI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Uttar Pradesh government, alleging caste-based discrimination in the state and claiming that fake encounters were carried out based on caste.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Yadav targeted the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), alleging that it was being used against sections of society.
Yadav said, "The Chief Minister's STF actually stands for 'Swajatiya Torture Force,' and the PDA (Pichhra Dalit Alpsankhyak) sections of society are facing constant persecution. Recently, a Dalit youth was killed, murdered, inside a police station in Badaun; notably, 10 out of the 22 police stations in Badaun are headed by Station House Officers (SHOs) belonging to the Chief Minister's own caste."
Yadav further alleged that police accounts of custodial deaths contradicted available evidence and claimed that caste considerations influenced encounters in the state.
"Regarding the custodial death in Badaun, the police are citing cardiac arrest as the cause, yet their account contradicts the CCTV footage. In Varanasi, individuals belonging to the Chief Minister's caste beat a Dalit man named Ramjanam to death. In cases of fake encounters, the encounters were carried out based on caste. When the government changes in the future, all of this will be investigated. Even within the police department, injustice is being meted out to people belonging to the PDA," Yadav stated.
The SP chief also alleged that the BJP was planning another voter revision exercise in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the upcoming state elections, claiming that migrants from other states would be registered as voters.
"Following the SIR (Special Intensive Revision), the BJP plans to conduct another revision before the UP elections; they had previously filed 'Form 7' after the SIR. Now, they intend to carry out an SAR (Special Annual Revision) to register migrants from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand as voters in UP. Our party's election campaign at the booth level is set to begin tomorrow," he said.
Targeting the state government's claims on investments and education, Yadav questioned the progress of investment MoUs and alleged that thousands of schools had been shut down.
"They talk about investments, yet they haven't reviewed the actual progress. Some industrialists are currently unhappy; find out the value of the investment MoUs they had signed. On Teachers' Day, we will hold programs in schools and highlight the fact that the government has shut down 26,000 schools," he said.
Yadav also expressed concern over flood-related issues in Uttar Pradesh and took a dig at state government officials over waterlogging in Prayagraj.
He said, "We stand with the flood victims across UP. In Prayagraj, waterlogging persists despite massive expenditure. And then there is a person who cannot distinguish between Spain and Venice."
Meanwhile, on the controversy over the alleged 'purification' of a venue after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's visit and the FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Yadav said he had faced similar incidents in the past.
"We ourselves are victims; this has happened to us three times. In Kannauj, a temple was washed with Ganga water after we left, and our home was also washed with Ganga water. We are positive and progressive people, and we would never do such a thing. We will take the state forward," he added. (ANI)
"UP STF stands for 'Swajatiya Torture Force', fake encounters carried out based on caste": Akhilesh Yadav
