Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday launched a fierce attack on the Opposition in the Assembly over the alleged codeine syrup controversy and claimed that key accused had links with the Samajwadi Party.
Citing documents and photographs on the floor of the House, Adityanath claimed that several individuals accused in the codeine syrup racket were SP office-bearers who had received licences during the party's tenure in power.
"Whoever is guilty will not be spared. We will take such strict action that you will not even be left fit for Fatiha," the Chief Minister said, drawing sharp reactions from the Opposition benches.
The CM said the UP Police and the Special Task Force had collected more than a thousand samples and cracked down on illegal diversion networks. He alleged that licences to the accused were issued during the SP government's tenure and accused the party of shielding those involved in organised crime.
Holding up a photograph of one of the accused, Amit Yadav, Adityanath asked whether he had not been an SP candidate from Varanasi Cantt. He further claimed that the main accused, Shubham Jaiswal, had funded Amit Yadav's Dubai trip in 2024. Naming others such as Manoj Yadav, Rajiv Yadav and Mukesh Yadav, the Chief Minister alleged that fake firms were floated to facilitate the illegal trade.
Taking a swipe at the Opposition, Adityanath also referred to the dismissal of a government employee, saying he was a "confirmed Samajwadi Party supporter" whose photographs with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had surfaced.
The Chief Minister also broadened his attack to include the Congress, accusing it of having laid the foundations of appeasement politics. Referring to the controversy around Vande Mataram, Adityanath said the first "official example" of appeasement dated back to 1937, when portions of the national song were dropped following opposition from the Muslim League.
He cited a letter written by Jawaharlal Nehru to Subhas Chandra Bose, claiming it showed Congress leaders had begun accommodating objections to Vande Mataram at the cost of national sentiment. "What was projected as harmony was actually the beginning of appeasement," he said, adding that Vande Mataram was not merely a song but a cultural value for Indians.
"The truth is bitter. Stop misleading people," Adityanath told the Opposition, insisting that the present government was acting firmly against criminal networks regardless of political affiliation. He said history was not just a record of facts but also a warning, and demanded that those opposing Vande Mataram apologise to the country.
The debate witnessed repeated interruptions from Opposition members, as the Chief Minister continued to defend his government's law-and-order record and accused previous regimes of enabling criminal syndicates through political patronage.
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