All Mafias Must Face Bulldozer Action, Akhilesh Raises Questions Over Cough Syrup Racket

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday launched a sharp attack over the alleged codeine cough syrup racket, claiming that the illegal trade originated from the Prime Minister’s parliamentary constituency. Addressing a press conference, Yadav alleged that the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister was lying and that those standing with her were also misleading the public.

“You cannot even imagine that an illegal cough syrup business is being run from the Prime Minister’s constituency. This is a racket worth thousands of crores and has international links,” Akhilesh said. He asserted that the network was far bigger than initially projected and called for strict action, including bulldozer action, against all mafias involved.

The former Chief Minister said the case was not limited to ₹100 or ₹200 crore. “As per information coming to light, around 700 companies are involved and transactions run into several thousand crores,” he claimed. While explaining the alleged sequence of events, Akhilesh read out newspaper headlines and accused the BJP of hiding crucial facts. He alleged that the BJP government was selectively using images to target the Samajwadi Party.

Questioning the BJP’s allegations, Akhilesh said, “If merely standing in a photograph with someone makes them a mafia, then I too have pictures with the Chief Minister, both Deputy Chief Ministers and several BJP leaders. If my photo with the Chief Minister is seen, then who should be called the mafia?”

Akhilesh Yadav’s remarks came in response to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s strong criticism of the Samajwadi Party in the codeine cough syrup smuggling case. Yogi had alleged that the party was linked to mafias, saying, “Everyone knows that almost every mafia in the state has connections with the Samajwadi Party. Preliminary investigations suggest that some of those arrested by the STF or Uttar Pradesh Police are associated with the Samajwadi Party.”

The political slugfest has intensified as both sides trade allegations over the scale, origins and political links of the alleged cough syrup racket.