Akhilesh says Bareilly violence was to divert attention from Kanpur's Akhilesh Dubey case

Lucknow, Oct 9 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday alleged that the recent violence in Bareilly was "deliberately engineered" by the Uttar Pradesh government to divert public attention from the controversy surrounding the Akhilesh Dubey case in Kanpur.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Yadav said the administration is "failing to maintain law and order" and claimed that officials acted under political pressure to stop him and a party delegation from visiting Bareilly after the violence.

Akhilesh Dubey, a lawyer in Kanpur, was recently arrested in connection with land grab and corruption cases, with several police officers also allegedly coming under scrutiny for their closeness to him.

While the Akhilesh Dubey controversy was still on, a new row started with the "I Love Muhammad" posters during a Barawafat procession in Kanpur last month, which was objected to by right-wing groups, leading to tension in the area. The tensions then spread to other places, including Bareilly, which witnessed violence on September 26.

"The truth is that the Bareilly incident was staged to cover up the Akhilesh Dubey issue in Kanpur," Yadav said, and added that "top police officers (in Kanpur) are involved in internal conflicts over postings and transfers." Accusing the government of having a "selective" approach towards corruption, he asked why properties of the poor and Muslims are targetted while people, such as Dubey, are protected.

"Why is the bulldozer not being run against Akhilesh Dubey? Because senior police officers are his friends...The administration has lists of illegal buildings owned by BJP leaders, but bulldozers never reach their doors," he claimed, citing reports of a local revenue officer allegedly amassing Rs 100 crore through illegal means.

Yadav also hit out at the BJP government for what he described as "bulldozer politics" and said, "We are against the culture of bulldozers used to punish the poor. If the government had maintained Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram memorials properly, their stone surfaces wouldn't have turned black." He also alleged that corruption and administrative bias were rampant in postings across police stations, particularly against members of backward, Dalit and minority communities.

Earlier in the day, Yadav had also referred to his meeting with senior SP leader Azam Khan in Rampur on Wednesday, describing it as "a good and meaningful interaction." Responding to a separate question on the 'shoe attack' on Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, Yadav said, "Those who talk about bulldozers and intolerance cannot claim to respect democratic institutions. The person who threw the shoe reportedly has BJP links." PTI KIS AMJ AMJ