Constitution, not bulldozers should guide governance: Akhilesh Yadav

Akhilesh also said that the SP would contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats in next year's general elections

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Saturday said the country should run according to Constitution and not through bulldozers while terming the killing of a prime witness in the 2005 murder of then BSP MLA Raju Pal a "failure" of the BJP government on the law and order front.

He also said that the alliance led by the Samajwadi Party will contest all 80 Lok Sabha seats in next year's general election. The Samajwadi Party chief was in Azamgarh to express his condolences over the death of the wife of senior party leader Balram Yadav.

Reacting to a question on the ongoing demolition exercise in Prayagraj after the killing of Umesh Pal, the key witness in the Raju Pal murder case, Yadav said, "The country should not be run by bulldozers but by law and Constitution."

"The witness and two gunners lost their lives in the shootout. The incident which is captured on CCTV is like a film shoot. Lives have been lost and it is the responsibility of the BJP government. This incident is a failure of the BJP government," Akhilesh Yadav said.

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Umesh Pal and his police security guard Sandeep Nishad were shot dead on February 24 outside his home in the Dhoomanganj area of Prayagraj.

When asked if he will visit the house of Sandeep Nishad in Azamgarh, Yadav said his Samajwadi Party is with that family and will go to them after full disclosure in the case. "Because, if I go today, the government will say that we went to seek sympathy, do vote-bank politics."

"To those who were saying that criminals will be crushed, I ask when will the list of top 10 mafias be released. This list is not being made public, fearing that BJP people might also be there in it," Yadav said.

About his party's preparations for next year's Lok Sabha elections, Akhilesh Yadav said that Samajwadi Party's alliance will contest all the 80 seats in the state.

SP had contested the 2022 assembly elections in alliance with Rashtriya Lok Dal, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP), Mahan Dal, Apna Dal (K) and Janwadi Party among others. Later, SBSP and Mahan Dal parted ways.

Referring to his party's win on the Mainpuri Lok Sabha byelection held following the death of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief said, "The BJP has not been able to assess the reasons why they lost so badly in Mainpuri. They lost badly because they do not have any answer to problems related to education, health, inflation, employment, law and order."

He advised the youth to give up their hope of jobs and employment from the BJP and asked them to teach the BJP a lesson in 2024, or else they will "get half-baked jobs like Agniveer".

"The BJP has to be removed to save the country and the society," he said.

When asked which party the SBSP national president O P Rajbhar will align within next year's general elections, Yadav said that only he Rajbhar will be able to tell this.

SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar contested the 2017 assembly elections in alliance with the BJP and became a minister but resigned within two years. In 2022, he contested in alliance with the SP, but during the presidential election supported the BJP.