Amidst speculation that former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and another senior Samajwadi Party leader are to be summoned by the CBI in connection with an illegal sand mining case, the party chief on Sunday, 6 January, said “he will fully comply with any CBI proceedings.”
“Years ago, the Congress tried to stop the Samajwadi Party, today the BJP is doing the same by reviving an old case. If the CBI wants to inquire, we will fully comply with the proceedings.”Akhilesh Yadav
Earlier in the day, the CBI had conducted searches across multiple districts, including Jalaun, Hamirpur, Lucknow and also in the national capital, according to The Indian Express.
When asked whether the raids were politically motivated, Yadav replied, saying that it is not up to him or for his his party to decide, but of the media to inpsect of the role of parties in the CBI’s raids.
‘Raids Won’t Affect Alliance with BSP’
The former UP CM also said that “the raids won’t affect its alliance with Bahujan Samajwadi Party, however, it is up to the people who they want to see in power.”
The Samajwadi Party leader was the chief minister and the mining minister in 2012-13, when the alleged illegal sand mining took place.
Despite the National Green Tribunal’s ban on mining, it is alleged that the public servants made way for illegal mining between 2012-16 and illegally renewed licenses, according to PTI.
SP & BSP Properties Raided by CBI on 5 Jan
Among those whose properties were searched on 5 January were Samajwadi Party MLC Ramesh Mishra in Hamirpur and BSP leader Ram Avtar Rajput in Jalaun district, reported The Indian Express.
Adil Khan, B Chandrakal, then mining officer Moinuddin, mining clerk Ram Ashray Prajapati, Ambika Tiwari (Hamirpur) and Sanjay Dikshit are the others accused in the case, according to ANI.
2008 batch IAS officer B Chandrakala who rose to fame on social media for her alleged anti-corruption crusade is among the prominent people whose premises were searched by the agency.
The agency said that the role of all those who were ministers during the period of 2012-13 would be examined in the case.
According to PTI, the CBI is likely to question former minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who held the portfolio of the mining department.
The CBI had filed seven preliminary inquiries in 2016, on the directions of the Allahabad High Court to probe the case of illegal mining of minor minerals.
(With inputs from PTI, The Indian Express and ANI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)