Mulayam Singh Yadav targeted Narendra Modi’s trusted aide Amit Shah, saying it was “unfortunate” that people like that were in politics.
“It is unfortunate that people like Amit Shah are not behind bars. People like him are making divisive speeches. We will fight the BJP like we have and we will destroy Amit Shah,” the Samajwadi Party chief.
He was speaking after a senior BJP leader and former union minister Ashok Pradhan joined the Samajwadi Party.
Amit Shah is in charge of the BJP’s campaign in Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha and is key to power at the Centre.
“Does Amit Shah have anything to do with humanity? Just look at his history. What he did in Gujarat… he was home minister,” said Mulayam Singh, whose party governs Uttar Pradesh.
Amit Shah, a controversial figure, has received an Election Commission notice for a series of hate speeches in Muzaffarnagar, where riots in September killed nearly 60 and displaced thousands from their villages.
In one such speech last week, he said, “In Uttar Pradesh, especially western Uttar Pradesh, this election is one of honour, it is an opportunity to take revenge and to teach a lesson to people who have committed injustice.”
