The Samajwadi Party moved court to bury around 19 cases against their senior party leaders from Uttar Pradesh over the past five years. The party, which is also dealing with an internal rift, recently joined hands with the Congress with Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav addressing their first joint press conference on Sunday afternoon highlighting the agenda of the upcoming polls — clean governance, progress and prosperity.
According to the Indian Express, the alleged cases cover several crimes such as rioting, fraud, kidnapping, extortion and also culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
At least seven state ministers, 10 SP MLAs, BJP MP from Agra Ram Shankar Katheria and senior BJP leader and Union Minister Kalraj Mishra benefited from the withdrawal application of criminal cases that were filed in court on grounds of "public interest and interest of justice."
A withdrawal application in a case against Mishra is pending in court, the IE reported. He had been accused of holding a public meeting in Pilibhit without permission in 2009. Pleas seeking withdrawal of five cases against BJP MP Katheria were also filed. Out of the five cases, one of them includes protesting at a power sub-station in Agra. Another includes delivering a "hate speech" at a condolence meeting in Agra in February 2016, following which Katheria, who is a former Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, lost his berth.
Cases were registered against Minister Raghuraaj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986. However, it was withdrawn in July 2014. Cases were also filed against history-sheeters, SP MLAs Abhay Singh (case withdrawn in February 2014) and Vijay Mishra (petition on his case is pending).
At least six of the seven state ministers and seven of the 10 SP MLAs with criminal cases registered against them have been given tickets to contest the upcoming assembly polls. Raja Bhaiya had contested the polls as an independent candidate in 2012.
According to the daily, several state government counsel and the accused confirmed that the government moved to withdraw cases, but no one was willing to explain the logic behind the decision citing "the political atmosphere" in the state due to the upcoming elections.
However, Cabinet Minister and Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary told the IE that he had "no information" about the matter.
