Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for allegedly tapping the phones of SP leaders adding that "Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath listens to the recordings himself".
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, the SP chief claimed, "All our phone calls are being heard. All the calls in our party's office are being listened to. The Chief Minister himself is listening to some of the recordings in the evening. If you contact us, then know that your call is being listened to by them."
Yadav's remarks came a day after a string of raids and searches by the Income Tax department at some SP leaders' offices and residences.
The SP chief further accused the BJP-led government in the state of misusing central agencies to persecute his party leaders ahead of upcoming Assembly polls.
"I have said on several occasions that BJP fears defeat. That is why they are using Income Tax Department, ED, CBI to attack SP leaders," Yadav said.
"Till now, these institutions were being used for the benefit of those in power. For the first time, we are seeing that they are being used to stop SP from coming to power in the state," he added.
The SP chief further alleged that BJP is using central agencies to create a sense of fear and for threatening people.
Meanwhile, Income Tax Department recovered cash worth Rs 17,500 in the raid that took place at the premises of SP functionary Rajeev Rai's premises, a close aide of party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday.
The IT department also seized call details, email, hard disks and computers in the raid that lasted 15 hours. The IT department raided four premises of Rajiv Rai including his residence at Mau's Sahadatpura.
( With inputs from ANI )
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