SP sent Nishikant Dubey a notice over Akhilesh-linked claims.
Dubey linked accused Tinnu Yadav to Akhilesh Yadav online.
Akhilesh warned of an FIR if the post was not deleted.
The Samajwadi Party has sent a legal notice to BJP MP Nishikant Dubey over his social media remarks, linking party chief Akhilesh Yadav to the alleged Ram Temple donation embezzelment case.
Nishikant Dubey in a post on X, questioned Akhilesh Yadav’s connection with the Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, one of the eight accused arrested in the alleged ‘theft’ case.
Samajwadi Adhivakta Sabha president Krishna Kanhaiya Pal told news agency PTI that the notice had been issued to Dubey for “defamation, character assassination and publication of malicious content” against SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
“You, noticee (Nishikant Dubey), have shared such defamatory contents/remarks to intentionally cause hatred towards the Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav ji, thereby directly inciting hatred against the Samajwadi Party, hence seditious in nature,” the notice said.
Pal has demanded that Dubey publish an apology “in favour” of the Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav within two weeks.
Nishikant Dubey’s Allegations
The row began after Dubey reshared a post of Saravanaprasad Balasubramanian, alleging a link between Akhilesh Yadav and Tinnu Yadav, asking, “Was Tinnu talking to Tipu?”
Saravanaprasad Balasubramania’s X post claimed, “The alleged contact between Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav has made the Ram Temple donation theft case even more sensational.”
“According to police investigation and mobile call detail record analysis, Tinnu Yadav was reportedly in regular contact with Akhilesh Yadav, speaking with him once or twice almost daily. The records also reportedly show that just one day before his arrest, Tinnu Yadav spoke with Akhilesh Yadav three times over the phone,” the post said.
The post further alleged that Tinnu Yadav, described as a tempo driver, had posed as a VHP worker to gain the trust of Ram Temple authorities and was allegedly entrusted with collecting and counting donations from devotees.
“If these reported phone contacts are accurate, the nature and purpose of this communication deserve a thorough and impartial investigation. Why they were in such frequent contact is a serious question that investigators should examine carefully,” Balasubramanian wrote on X.
Akhilesh Yadav Warns of FIR over ‘False’ Post
On Monday, Akhilesh Yadav warned Dubey of legal action over the post. In an X post, he asked the BJP MP to delete what he called a “false” post and said a police complaint would be filed if he failed to do so.
“Respecting the dignity of Lord Ram, social decorum, civility and parliamentary traditions, we give the BJP MP 10 minutes to delete this false post. Otherwise, an FIR will be lodged against him immediately,” Yadav wrote, tagging Dubey.
Responding to the notice, Dubey wrote in Hindi on X on Tuesday, “Akhilesh ji, lawyers like this are bringing you into disrepute. If you have been defamed, the legal notice would naturally have to come from you. That is what the law says. I was a member of the committee that drafted this law, so I am informed about it.”
“What state have you got yourself into? Why don't you take something? At the very least, take a Vicks tablet,” Dubey added.
Pal rejected Dubey’s argument and referred to Point 13 of the defamation notice, which said: “That after the defamatory, derogatory, offensive and casteist remarks shared by you (noticee) from your verified X account, my image has been lowered in the eyes of the general public.”
SIT Probe Details
The controversy first surfaced on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan "Pawan" Pandey alleged that donations worth between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7.5 crore had been siphoned off from temple offerings.
The Uttar Pradesh government constituted an SIT on June 13 to investigate the allegations. According to investigators, the preliminary inquiry found prima facie evidence of a systematic diversion of cash during the collection and counting of donations.
Police arrested eight employees involved in handling and counting temple donations on June 26. An FIR was subsequently registered against the eight named accused and several unidentified persons under Sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
