Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav speaks during his Vijay Rath Yatra ahead of 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in Unnao on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has denied links between his party and Kanpur-based perfume trader Piyush Jain, who was arrested by GST officials over tax evasion charges.
In an exclusive interview with India TV, Akhilesh claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has links with Jain and he funded the saffron party. He said that the BJP's objective is to defame the Samajwadi Party ahead of polls.
"Piyush Jain has nothing to do with Samajwadi perfume. Samajwadi Attar (perfume) was launched by SP MLC Pushpraj Jain and not Piyush Jain," he said, adding that 'there is no bigger liar than the BJP and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath'.
Notably, in multiple raids carried by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and other departments, around Rs 257 crore in cash, 25 kg of gold and 250 kg of silver were seized from the perfume trader's house in Kanpur as well as from his house and factory in Kannauj. Piyush Jain was sent to judicial custody for 14 days on a Kanpur court order on Monday.
With months to go for the polls in the state, BJP leaders have been attacking the Samajwadi Party over Jain's arrest, claiming that the perfume trader had links with Akhilesh's party. The SP, however, has been denying any links with Piyush Jain.
Reacting to Amit Shah's ABCD bark directed at the SP, Akhilesh said that Yogi Adityanath did not do any work in Uttar Pradesh in the last five years, "he should be taught ABCD".
The former Chief Minister exuded confidence that the SP will return to power with an absolute majority and provide a stable government to the people of Uttar Pradesh.
READ MORE: BJP got its 'own businessman' Piyush Jain raided by mistake: Akhilesh
