Mayawati’s officials out to taint SP’s image: Akhilesh

Pushed on the backfoot by reports of hooliganism by his party workers in several parts of Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav Friday accused “mischief makers” and state government officials of trying to tarnish the party’s image.

While SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is learnt to have spoken to Director General of Police Atul Kumar and senior home department officials on the matter, his son Akhilesh told reporters that the violence was part “of a political conspiracy”.

It had been hatched by people who “were not able to digest the triumph of the party”, Akhilesh Yadav said.

Refuting reports that SP workers were indulging in violence, Akhilesh Yadav blamed the present set of officials for being behind the incidents and rumour mongering.

He alleged that officials of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led government, which was defeated earlier this week, were spreading canards about the SP “as they knew they are on their way out”.

Addressing reporters, he gave a clean chit to party workers in the incidents of violence attributed to them.

The SP president also said the incidents of violence were “politically conspired”.

“You should understand that all this is a deep rooted political conspiracy, done by opponents and officials who have tortured our party cadres in the past five years of Mayawati’s rule,” he added.

Reiterating that the party would not tolerate any form of anti-social behaviour by its workers, Akhilesh added: “Many a time in the past, both myself and Netaji (Mulayam) have made this very clear… we are committed to an improved law and order in the state.”

On Tuesday, the day the SP swept to power in the state, celebratory gunfire in Sambhal left a 13-year-old boy dead. In Firozabad, SP workers pelted stones at policemen and injured one man, who died the next day of a gunshot wound.

On Wednesday, a group of reporters was held hostage in Jhansi on Wednesday.

The party’s clarification comes following reports that SP workers set on fire a hutment at Sitapur, where supporters of an Independent candidate lived.

According to reports, the incident took place at Babna village in Sitapur district where supporters of the newly elected SP legislator Mahendra Kumar Singh are alleged to have beaten up Independent candidate Shiv Kumar Gupta and then set the huts of his supporters on fire.

Gupta has alleged that the SP workers were angry about his supporters not voting the SP.