New Delhi, Jan 6: The BJP on Sunday charged Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav with indulging in illegal mining during his tenure in Uttar Pradesh and demanded that he be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
''You've looted the people and law is taking its course,'' said BJP leader and Uttar Pradesh Medical and Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh in a press conference at party headquarters here.
Mr Singh said the CBI conducted raids at several locations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in connection with the illegal sand mining on Saturday.
When illegal mining took place, Mr Yadav was the Mining Minister in 2012-13, he said.
''Akhilesh ji you cannot loot, and beat your chest over it, Mr Singh said.
In 2016, the Allahabad High Court took cognizance of the matter and gave it to the CBI.
The residences of senior officers, including IAS officer B Chandralekha in Hamirpur, who has served as the district magistrate (DM) of Bijnor, Bulandshahar and Meerut, were raided.
Mr Singh said when in 2012, Mr Yadav himself said the e-tenders will be given and Allahabad High Court said that the procedure should be transparent but ''your own officer Chandralikha violated the rules.''
''We want to know what was behind the walls that you had to break it down," Mr Singh has asked, referring to the images of broken walls from the bungalow Akhilesh vacated.
Is the mystery behind the broken wall connected with illegal mining, he asked.
In reference to the proposed alliance between the SP and Bahujan Samaj Party, Mr Singh said the CBI was an autonomous body and it does not work keeping in mind timing of elections or 'gathbandhan'.
''You cannot hide behind the timing and question the timing of raids,'' he said.
The e-tender for mining rule was violated for two years and the BJP demands an answer on this, Mr Singh said.
On alliance being done in Uttar Pradesh for 2019 general elections, he said ''we do not need crutches.''