Akhilesh: Till BJP is in power, no hope for justice in Lakhimpur case

On Monday, the top court made it clear that it does not want Uttar Pradesh to continue with a judicial commission probe into the October 3 violence.

“It has been published in newspapers that the Supreme Court has taken cognizance. The SP has been saying this from the beginning. That till the BJP is in power, forget justice. The triple engine comprising one from Delhi, one from Lucknow, and one from Lakhimpur, are ruining the law and order in the state…,” said Akhilesh.

Reading from a newspaper, the former chief minister added, “It is the apex court which is saying that there is an attempt to save people in Lakhimpur Kheri. This is not the first time the SC has said this. The High Court and Supreme Court has raised questions about the law and order in UP. Why is the government not accepting the matter of monitoring of probe? We are already saying that as long as the BJP is in government here, there is no hope of justice in this case.”

The SP president also raised concerns about an alleged delay in the release of a draft voters’ list. The final list will be published on January 5 ahead of the Assembly polls. Akhilesh warned that his party might begin a sit-in against the Election Commission (EC) if it does not provide them with the draft voters’ list.

“The new voter list has 21.56 lakh names. The number of names removed from the voter list is 16.42 lakh. What happens is that the names removed and added are issued. This time, the Election Commission is not issuing this list of names. I don’t know under whose pressure this is being done. If we want to challenge the list, then we can’t. We have complained about this, and if needed, we will protest against the Election Commission as well,” said the SP chief.

He added, “I have heard that all the EC officers in Delhi are from UP. And elections are in UP. We hope that the EC will work in an unbiased manner. If needed, the SP will sit on dharna against the EC. Till the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the electoral roll was provided to political parties. Why is it not given this time? Why are we not provided the updated list of voters?”

Questioned about Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s comments on the alleged exodus of people from Kairana in Shamli district between 2014 and 2016, Akhilesh said, “You should show the sections under which the CM was booked. He withdrew them himself. The CM should himself think about it and also about what the SC is saying about the SIT.” — With PTI inputs