"Home Minister responsible...ask him how this happened": Akhilesh Yadav on killing of Suvendu Adhikari's aide

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 7 : Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday reacted sharply to the killing of Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant Chandranath Rath, holding the Union Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for the same while demanding accountability.

Speaking after a meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at her Kolkata residence, Yadav reacted to Rath's murder and said, "Home Minister is responsible for this. How did his (Suvendu Adhikari's) PA get murdered? Tag the Home Minister on Twitter and ask him how this happened."

Raising broader concerns over the electoral process in West Bengal following the recently concluded Assembly electionswhere the BJP won 207 seats, and the TMC secured 80he alleged that voters were influenced through fear and claimed that the Election Commission was "not impartial" and was working with the BJP.

"The more terrible thing happened here (West Bengal). If the votes are cast out of fear of bullets, then who will win? You are scaring the voters with bullets, and the Election Commission is not impartial. It is working with the BJP," Yadav said.

He also escalated his criticism of the EC, referring to past protests by his party.

"When the UP by-elections were held, all my party members and I took a shroud to the Lok Sabha so that I could give it to the Speaker, so that it reaches the Election Commission. Because we said that the Election Commission is dead," he said.

Citing election data, he claimed that voting patterns were being manipulated through force and administrative control. Referring to the Kundarki bypoll, he added, "In 2012, the SP had 37%. In 2017, SP had 42%. In 2022, SP had 46% of the votes. The Samajwadi Party never lost an election. And BJP was at 29%, 37%, 30% in the same time frames, respectively."

The SP chief further alleged irregularities in West Bengal polls, claiming central forces influenced booth-level processes.

"When votes are cast with the help of central forces, agents are not allowed inside. The same happened in Bengal. Because of this, the votes of the BJP reached 77 per cent. They changed the whole process of elections," Yadav said.

In the ongoing investigation into the murder of Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant Chandranath Rath, Vidyagar Ajinkya Anant, SDPO of Barasat Police District, visited the crime scene on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, he said, "Investigation is ongoing. I can't share more information now."

Rath, a former Indian Air Force personnel and aide to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead on Wednesday in Madhyamgram. Police have recovered a motorcycle linked to the attackers and are continuing their investigation.

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