The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday claimed that the recent increase in political influence of Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, referred to as 'do ladke' (the two boys), has made way for criminals to roam around more confidently without facing consequnces in Uttar Pradesh.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi accused the Samajwadi Party of protecting criminals and criticized the party for the arrest of two people linked to it. These individuals are facing charges of rape and attempted rape in Ayodhya and Kannauj.
Trivedi also alleged that the Samajwadi Party has been giving "cover fire" to criminals and also helping the members of the opposition INDIA bloc to defend criminal elements of their alliance partners as well.
"Those associated with two boys have been committing crimes. The audacity of criminals has been rising since the increase in the strength of these two boys," he said in an apparent reference to Congress leader Gandhi and Yadav, whose alliance outperformed the BJP-led NDA in Uttar Pradesh in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
It is in the DNA of the Samajwadi Party to stand with criminals, he told the press conference, taking a swipe at the regional party's demand for the DNA testing to prove the guilt of the accused in one of the cases.
To take swipe at the regional party, the Rajya Sabha member recited some biting poetry of Adam Gondvi, who through his poems often highlighted the plight of the poor and marginalised.
Without naming the SP founder and Akhilesh Yadav's late father Mulayam Singh Yadav, Trivedi hit out at the party's alleged support to criminals by citing his 2014 comment -- "boys will be boys, mistakes are made sometimes".
BJP Targets Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
The BJP leader also targeted West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her stand that she will transfer the rape-murder case of a doctor in a government-run hospital in Kolkata to the CBI if the local police did not solve the case till Sunday.
He questioned whether the delay is meant to manipulate the case and demanded that the investigation be immediately handed over to the CBI. He also criticized her for transferring the principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the serious incident occurred, to another college.
Incidentally, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the transfer of the probe into the case from the Kolkata Police to the CBI.
Questioning the "silence" of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over these crimes, he said INDIA bloc parties are covering up for "mutual criminal elements" in their alliance.
