Akhilesh Yadav Questions ED Raids, Demands Wider Action

Lucknow, August 19, 2026 Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday questioned the Enforcement Directorate’s action against jailed party leader Azam Khan, alleging that investigative agencies were focusing selectively on opposition leaders. He urged the ED to also investigate several alleged corruption and criminal cases involving BJP-linked individuals and projects. The ED carried out searches at around 10 locations associated with the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and the university established by Khan in Rampur and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, along with Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, as part of a money laundering investigation. According to ED officials, government contract funds were allegedly diverted through private contractors and later utilised, including for creating assets for the trust and university. Reacting to the raids, Yadav alleged that those who established educational institutions were being targeted while other alleged cases remained unattended. He said, "The BJP and its associates, who are anti-education, anti-teacher and anti-student and who are shutting down schools, are conducting ED raids against those who build universities to satisfy their remaining 1-2 per cent communal, narrow-minded and argumentative supporters." Yadav also demanded ED action against those allegedly involved in the theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the illegal stocking and supply of codeine-based syrups, and other alleged criminal activities. He further raised questions over several infrastructure projects, referring to the “dilapidated Bundelkhand Expressway”, the “shaking Purvanchal Expressway”, the “pothole-ridden Kanpur-Lucknow Expressway” and the “cracked Green Corridor”. His remarks also covered allegedly damaged roads, collapsing bridges and water tanks, leaking roofs and a station wall constructed during the BJP government’s tenure. The SP chief additionally called for action against “corrupt policemen backed by the BJP government”, contractors allegedly linked to irregularities during the Maha Kumbh, and those accused of wrongdoing in Smart City projects. He also alleged that BJP-linked contractors siphoned off Rs 1 lakh crore during the Maha Kumbh and referred to a “multi-trillion-rupee game” allegedly carried out in the name of Smart Cities. Through his remarks, Yadav pressed for investigations into all allegations of corruption and wrongdoing, arguing that action should not be limited to selective cases.