New Delhi, November 7, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Saturday hit back at BJP President Nitin Nabin over his remarks on party leader Azam Khan, alleging that mafias and criminals were associated with the BJP and seen alongside Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The exchange followed Nabin’s remarks in an exclusive interview with IANS, in which he accused the SP leadership of engaging in vote-bank politics by supporting people allegedly associated with criminal elements.
“These are the same people who gave Uttar Pradesh the identity of ‘One District, One Mafia’. During the Samajwadi Party government, every district had a strongman, and they used these figures to gain and maintain power,” Nabin had said, responding to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s allegations of injustice against Azam Khan, who is currently in judicial custody in a money laundering case.
Reacting to Nabin, SP MLA Sangram Yadav said, “All the mafias are associated with the BJP and are seen alongside CM Yogi Adityanath. Can’t you see who the mafia from Varanasi is sitting with? Who the mafias from Jaunpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Deoria and Allahabad are associated with? Do you only see PDA members as mafias? Can’t you see people from Yogi Adityanath ji’s own community as mafias?”
He questioned the BJP’s criteria for identifying someone as a mafia and referred to an Allahabad High Court observation concerning licences. He also questioned how one individual could display 500 weapons on Dussehra without the Chief Minister noticing.
“It is the BJP which is the party of mafias, goons and corruption,” Sangram Yadav told IANS.
SP MLA Jai Kishan Sahu said voters in Uttar Pradesh would respond to such remarks in the 2027 Assembly elections by bringing the Akhilesh Yadav-led party to power. He alleged that young people were struggling to find jobs and that students demanding employment opportunities were facing police action.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Prakash Pal defended Nabin’s criticism of the SP, citing the cases of Atiq Ahmed, Mukhtar Ansari and Azam Khan. He alleged that mafia figures had used muscle power to illegally occupy land and property during previous governments.
Pal also referred to the influence enjoyed by Atiq Ahmed and Mukhtar Ansari, making claims about their treatment in custody and their alleged privileges. He asserted that such mafia elements had been completely eliminated under the government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
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