The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched an all-out attack on Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday, saying that one of the prisoners in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bombings case is the son of a Yadav-led party senior.
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“We welcome the court judgment. Of the 49 convicted, Mohd Saif is the son of SP leader Shadab Ahmed. Why is Akhilesh silent over this? These photos show him with the then CM Akhilesh Yadav. Did Akhilesh Yadav call him over biryani? The politician’s son was the mastermind and involved in the blasts,” ANI quoted Anurag Thakur, the Union minister for information and broadcasting and the BJP’s co-in-charge of the ongoing polls in UP.
Meanwhile, Union home minister Amit Shah said, speaking at an election rally in the state’s Banda area, that if the SP wins, ‘UP will supply terrorism all over the country.’
Yogi Adityanath, the state’s chief minister, said earlier today that his predecessor, Akhilesh Yadav, was seen campaigning for votes with the family of one of the criminals.
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On Friday, a special court in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad sentenced 38 people to death and 11 to life in prison in connection with the July 26, 2008 serial blasts in the state’s main city. On February 8, the court found 49 defendants guilty, while 29 were found not guilty. The case involved a total of 80 people who were put on trial.
When the bombs happened, Gujarat’s chief minister was Prime Minister Narendra Modi. From 2012 until 2017, Akhilesh Yadav served in the same capacity in Uttar Pradesh.
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Uttar Pradesh will have elections in seven phases, the first two of which were held on February 10 and 14. While 58 of the 403 assembly seats were voted on in the first round, 55 were voted on in the second round, and 59 will be voted on on Sunday. The remaining rounds will take place on February 23, 27, March 3 and 7, respectively. On March 10, the votes cast in each of the seven phases will be counted.