Ayodhya & Kolkata rape cases: BJP attacks I.N.D.I.A. bloc over 'covering up' for criminals

New Delhi: The BJP alleged on Tuesday that the recent rise in the political strength of 'do ladke', a reference to Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, has resulted in criminals getting emboldened in Uttar Pradesh.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi accused the Samajwadi Party of sheltering criminals, and targeted the Yadav-led party over the arrest of two persons allegedly associated with it on the charges of rape and attempt to rape in incidents which happened in Ayodhya and Kannauj.

Not only the SP has been giving "cover fire" to criminals but the members of the opposition INDIA bloc are helping each other defend criminal elements of their alliance partners as well, he told reporters.

"Those associated with two boys have been committing crimes. The audacity of criminals has been rising since the increase in the strength of these two boys," he said in an apparent reference to Congress leader Gandhi and Yadav, whose alliance outperformed the BJP-led NDA in Uttar Pradesh in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

It is in the DNA of the Samajwadi Party to stand with criminals, he told the press conference, taking a swipe at the regional party's demand for the DNA testing to prove the guilt of the accused in one of the cases.

To take swipe at the regional party, the Rajya Sabha member recited some biting poetry of Adam Gondvi, who through his poems often highlighted the plight of the poor and marginalised.

Without naming the SP founder and Akhilesh Yadav's late father Mulayam Singh Yadav, Trivedi hit out at the party's alleged support to criminals by citing his 2014 comment -- "boys will be boys, mistakes are made sometimes".

The BJP leader also targeted West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her stand that she will transfer the rape-murder case of a doctor in a government-run hospital in Kolkata to the CBI if the local police did not solve the case till Sunday.

Is so much time being given so that the case can be manipulated, he asked, demanding an immediate transfer of the investigation to the CBI. He also criticised her for transferring the principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the ghastly incident happened, as the principal of another college.

Incidentally, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the transfer of the probe into the case from the Kolkata Police to the CBI Questioning the "silence" of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over these crimes, he said INDIA bloc parties are covering up for "mutual criminal elements" in their alliance.

Replying to a question, Trivedi referred to the reported rise in the value of Rahul Gandhi's share-holdings, and said his "mohabbat ka dukan" was making a tidy profit as well, while he is making a lot of noise, a reference to the Congress leader's criticism of the market regulator SEBI over the Hinderburg Research's allegations.

The Congress has often targeted key companies linked to the Indian economy, Trivedi said naming the SBI, HAL and LIC (all public sector listed firms), adding that they have gone on to make record profits.

He alleged that the Congress has often stood with foreign companies, citing Union Carbide, Bofors and AgustaWestland.