Vinay Kumar
LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged on Tuesday that land-related accusations against Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav were part of a BJP plot to discredit and replace 3 of its CMs, including in Rajasthan and UP, even as Congress attacked the MP CM.The allegation followed a report by ‘The Indian Express’ that Mohan Yadav’s family and real estate firms had acquired at least 137 plots spanning 168 acres in Ujjain for Rs 45 crore in 2years since Dec 2023. The plots were allegedly concentrated in areas that benefited from road projects and land-use changes announced by MP govt.“If those are the allegations against Mohan Yadav, UP CM has bought 300-600 acres of land,” Akhilesh alleged in Lucknow. Congress also trained its guns on Mohan Yadav, alleging ‘plunder’.Under BJP’s ‘double-engine’ government in Madhya Pradesh, ‘engine of plunder’ is running at full speed,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a Hindi post on X, sharing the news report.MP chief minister Mohan Yadav himself was at helm of this alleged “looting”, Ramesh alleged. He also pointed to speculation that the Union agriculture minister, who moved from MP to Centre, had orchestrated “planting of stories” against the chief minister — an apparent reference to Shivraj Singh Chouhan. “The infighting appears to be over seat of power and a share in spoils,” Ramesh said.Akhilesh Yadav rejected allegations against Mohan Yadav, saying land purchases by his family were not new because he had been in real estate before becoming chief minister. “Wasn’t BJP aware that he was into real estate business? You know why these allegations are being levelled at this stage? This is because BJP is looking for ways to replace 3 CMs,” Akhilesh said.He alleged BJP was working to remove Mohan Yadav and the CMs of Rajasthan and UP. But a change of guard would not alter BJP’s fortunes in UP, he said, predicting SP’s “bicycle” would race past rivals in 2027 assembly polls.“In upcoming elections, Samajwadi Party’s cycle will move at a speed that all other parties will clear its way on their own,” he said, drawing cheers from party workers.Congress general secretary KC Venugopal questioned why central investigative agencies had not acted against Mohan Yadav. “PM Modi, why have ED-CBI not knocked on doors of MP CM Mohan Yadav? Is a 253-acre mega land scam not grounds enough to chase him and punish him for his crimes?” Venugopal asked.He alleged BJP used investigative agencies to hound opposition politicians, settle political scores and pressure rivals into joining its alliance, but had gone silent when its own functionaries were accused of looting public wealth.
