The Samajwadi Party said the man is no longer a party worker.
An alleged rape attempt on a minor in UP's Kannauj has prompted an attack on the Samajwadi Party by the BJP, which has claimed that the accused was once a representative of the opposition party's MP and Akhilesh Yadav's wife, Dimple Yadav. The Samajwadi Party has rubbished the allegations and said that the man is no longer associated with the party.
In her police complaint, the girl said that she and her aunt had gone to meet Nawab Singh Yadav, 50, who had promised to get her a job, on Sunday night. When her aunt went to the washroom, Yadav allegedly took off her top and his pants and tried to force himself on her. The aunt returned, saw what was happening and called the police. Yadav has now been arrested.
"Around 1.30 am, a call was received at the UP 112 service in which the girl alleged that she was undressed and a rape attempt was made," Kannauj Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Anand was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Mr Kumar said police teams immediately reached the spot and Yadav, who was in a state of undress, was taken into custody. A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Attacking the Samajwadi Party, UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said Nawab Singh Yadav had been a representative of Dimple Yadav when she was the MP from Kannauj. He also pointed to another Samajwadi Party member and bakery shop owner Moid Khan, who was arrested for the rape of a minor in Ayodhya last month.
"Samajwadi Party has always covered up such crimes under the policy that boys are boys and they make mistakes (referring to a statement by the party's founder, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had once said 'ladke hai, ladko se galti ho jaati hai'). First, it was Moid Khan of Ayodhya and Nawab Yadav of Kannauj. This is the real character of the Samajwadi Party, " Mr Tripathi said.
Releasing a letter in Hindi, the Samajwadi Party said Yadav is not associated with it anymore.
"Media and other sources are calling Nawab Singh Yadav a Samajwadi Party leader, which is wrong. Nawab Yadav was involved in anti-party activities for about 5 years and he is not an active member of the party, but the Samajwadi Party is still being defamed as part of a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the party," the letter said.