Akhilesh Yadav spoke to NDTV in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj.
BJP leaders always come to Uttar Pradesh flanked by central investigation agencies and use raids by them as material for their political speeches, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav today said, hinting that the recent raid on a party leader in Kannauj was politically motivated. "They had pre-written speeches mentioning the raid on the SP leader, how is that possible? Who gave them that information even before the raid? It means they knew about it before it happened," Mr Yadav told NDTV.
Samajwadi Party's Pushpraj 'Pampi' Jain was raided by authorities this morning. Around 50 locations are being searched by the Income Tax Department in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Mumbai linked to the businessman who owns perfumery, petrol pumps, and cold storage operations and had launched a 'Samajwadi Party perfume' ahead of UP elections due early next year.
The raid comes days after a huge haul at the Kanpur and Kannauj premises of another businessman Piyush Jain, which led to the recovery of Rs 196 crore in cash and 23 kg gold.
Akhilesh Yadav said that when the Kanpur businessman was raided, all BJP leaders including PM Modi, Home Minister, and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister falsely claimed that the money belonged to the person who had made the 'Samajwadi Perfume' and even the news channels linked the person to his party.
"When the truth came out that the person had nothing to do with the SP, they have raided Pushpraj Jain to cover up their tracks," Mr Yadav said.
On attacks by Home Minister Amit Shah in a recent speech at SP-stronghold Hardoi, the Samajwadi leader said that "no one can lie better than the BJP".
Mr Shah had targeted the SP, alleging that the opposition party's lexicon starts with 'Apraadh' (crime), 'Bhaai-Bhatijavaad' (nepotism), and 'Corruption'.
"Hitler only had a propaganda ministry but this entire government lies," Mr Yadav said.
PM Modi had also taken a swipe at SP regarding the raids, saying, "Boxes filled with notes have come out. The people of Kanpur understand business and trade well. Before 2017, the perfume of corruption that they had sprinkled all over Uttar Pradesh is there for everyone to see."