Bulandshahr incident: BJP maligning UP Govt.'s reputation, says Azmi

Mumbai (Maharashtra), Aug 2 (ANI): Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi on Tuesday backed his party colleague Azam Khan's remarks on the Bulandshahr incident and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to defame the Akhilesh Yadav-led government in Uttar Pradesh for electoral gains in the upcoming assembly polls. Azmi said the BJP, which is desperate to win in Uttar Pradesh, is leaving no stone unturned in maligning the image of the Samajwadi Party. "I think the whole episode is organized. All this is happening in the wake of UP elections. UP elections are crucial, they have become as important as general elections. The BJP wants to win UP polls at any cost," said Azmi. "In the name of law and order, the BJP is troubling people... All this is very wrong. The BJP deliberately is doing all this, it wants to show that law and order under the SP government is not good," he added. In what may come as an embarrassment for the Samajwadi Party Government, Khan earlier hinted at a political conspiracy behind the gang-rape of a mother and her 14-year-old daughter in Bulandshahr. Khan said that a desperate opposition could stoop to any level to defame and disgrace the government since the state elections are approaching. The three men, who have been arrested, were yesterday sent to 14-day judicial custody. Four other accused are, however, still absconding. The incident took place on Friday night when a 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were allegedly gang-raped by a group of robbers in Bulandshahr district. The victims were on their way from Noida to Shahjahanpur with the other family members when their vehicle was stopped near a cycle repairing shop in Dostpur village on NH-9, which connects Noida and Bulandshahr. (ANI)