"False cases are being framed against Samajwadi Party leaders. Injustice has been done to Gayatri Prasad Prajapati. I am confident that this family will get justice in court. Leaders like Ramakant Yadav and Azam Khan were also framed in false cases," Yadav, who was in Amethi to attend the wedding of Prajapati's daughter, told reporters.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday claimed that injustice has been done to influential party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who is in jail since March 2017 on charges of rape, and hoped that he would get justice from court.
"False cases are being framed against Samajwadi Party leaders. Injustice has been done to Gayatri Prasad Prajapati. I am confident that this family will get justice in court. Leaders like Ramakant Yadav and Azam Khan were also framed in false cases," Yadav, who was in Amethi to attend the wedding of Prajapati's daughter, told reporters.
Attacking the BJP, the SP chief said the people of UP should get good roads but the BJP releases bulls which injure people. "The government is running away from answering issues of unemployment and spiralling prices. Earlier, the BJP people used to carry a cylinder on their head. Today, inflation is at an all-time high, but they have no answer," Yadav said.
Without taking the name of Union minister Smriti Irani, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Amethi, he asked the people of the constituency to defeat her in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
"The 'cylinder waali' is the MP from this place. Definitely defeat her," he said.
Training his guns at the CM Yogi Adityanath, he said, "I have not seen a chief minister who has withdrawn cases registered against himself. I am asking the CM to release the list of top 10 criminals (in the state)."
SP leaders have often accused the chief minister of withdrawing cases against himself. Last week, Adityanath had responded to the accusation, clarifying he has not withdrawn any case files against himself. Instead, he accused Yadav of doing so in 2016.
"In the last six years, the chief minister or the deputy chief minister have not withdrawn any such case. But it is true that SP president Akhilesh Yadav had withdrawn cases against himself in 2016 using his signature," Adityanath said.
Prajapati was the mining minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government. He was sent to jail in March 2017 on charges of gang-raping a woman and attempting to rape her minor daughter as well. He has been given a one-week parole until March 7 for the wedding of his daughter on Monday.
A powerful minister, the FIR against Prajapati was registered following a Supreme Court order on the woman's plea.
On possible alliance in the 2024 election, Yadav said, "Those who are our allies now, we will contest all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 with them."
The SP chief also said the state should function as per the law. "This government is not working as per the Constitution of Baba Saheb. We want our state to function as per Baba Saheb's Constitution. But the BJP is running the state as per its own constitution," he alleged.
Akhilesh during his meeting with Prajapati enquired about his health and well-being. SP MLA from Gauriganj Rakesh Pratap Singh was present there.
-With PTI Input