India News | BJP Imported Workers from Gujarat to Spread Rumours, Hatred in UP, Says SP Chief

Lucknow, Jan 16 (PTI) Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the BJP of importing workers from Gujarat to train its cadres in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh in spreading "hatred and rumours".

He asked the Election Commission to take cognisance of the issue and send them back, failing which, he said elections may not remain impartial.

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"None of our workers are from other states. I will ask my journalist friend to give me the list of people that have come from Gujarat. I will write to the Election Commission to send back also those who have arrived here from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh," he said.

Yadav said photos that are doing rounds on the social media convey that BJP workers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state had arrived in Uttar Pradesh to spread "rumours, conspiracies, lies and hatred, besides distributing money".

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The SP chief addressed journalists at the party office after inducting former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Dara Singh Chauhan and Apna Dal (Sonelal) MLA RK Verma into the party.

Responding to Anurag Thakur's jibe that SP leaders were either "in jail or out on bail", Yadav asked journalists to look into the Union minister's records in various ministries.

Welcoming former Kanpur Police Commissioner Asim Arun into the BJP fold, Thakur had on Sunday said those indulging in riots join the SP and those who crack the whip on rioters join the BJP.

Commenting on the former IPS officer, Yadav said he will move the Election Commission demanding that those officials, who had been discharging duties with Asim Arun, be kept away from poll duties or else they too would "double up as BJP workers".

"I am hopeful that the Election Commission will act on such officials. If does not, it will raise questions on the Election Commission's sanctity," Yadav said.

Reacting to Yadav's comments, Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi told PTI, "Akhilesh Yadav heads a state party, and not a national party. He is afraid of the BJP and has been making baseless remarks... All these show that he is trying to establish reasons for his party's electoral loss."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)