Under lens in mining case: Akhilesh Yadav cleared 13 leases in a day, says CBI

Yadav, at that time, was also handling the mining portfolio and had cleared a total of 14 licenses with the last one being cleared in June 2013.

The CBI claimed on Monday that the 13 licenses handed out on February 17 were granted by Hamirpur’s district magistrate B Chandrakala after getting approval from the Chief Minister’s Office in violation of the 2012 e-tender policy which was upheld by the Allahabad High Court on January 29, 2013.

The list of licences also includes eight licences cleared by then UP minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati between September 2013 and May 2015.

On Sunday, Yadav alleged at a press conference in Lucknow that the BJP-led government was using CBI to intimidate leaders of Opposition parties.

“Now we have to tell the CBI as to how many seats we have distributed in the gathbandhan (alliance). I am happy that at least the BJP has shown its colours. Earlier, the Congress gave us the chance to meet the CBI, and this time it is the BJP, which has given us this opportunity,” he had said.

Based on its FIR against 11 people in the illegal mining case, the CBI had carried out searches at 14 locations over the weekend. Those mentioned in the FIR include Chandrakala, along with Ramesh Kumar Mishra of the Samajwadi Party and Sanjay Dixit, who contested on a BSP ticket in the 2017 state polls.