Ayodhya rape case: Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit defends Akhilesh Yadav’s DNA test demand; says ‘UP has become..’

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Sunday defended Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, after his demand to conduct a DNA test of the two men accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in Ayodhya sparked outrage. He said that Uttar Pradesh had become a means of political instrument between the centre and the opposition.

The son of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Sandeep Dikshit was of the view that such DNA tests had been carried out in the past to find culprits of rape cases.

“What Akhilesh Yadav is asking, the DNA tests, have been used in cases like these in the past to find out, verify the accused, or the police, administration suspect,” Dikshit told PTI.

He further said that rape cases in Uttar Pradesh have always been politicized, “ rather than looking at it as an issue of justice.”

“There is nothing amiss in what Akhilesh Yadav is saying," added the Congress leader while defending the Samajwadi Party chief.

Uttar Pradesh affairs ‘very sad’

Taking a dig at matters of the state, Sandeep Dikshit further stated that Uttar Pradesh had become a means of political games between the ruling party and the opposition, "rather than somebody that wants to dispense justice,” he said, terming the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh as “very sad”.

What Akhilesh Yadav said

Akhilesh Yadav, on Saturday, had demanded a DNA test of the two men who had been accused of raping a 12-year-old girl.

"Without a DNA test in the Bhadarsa case of Ayodhya, BJP's allegation will be considered biased," Yadav had said.

Meanwhile, the BJP accused the SP chief of defending a “paedophile”.

"The government should make the best possible medical arrangements for the rape survivor. It is the government's responsibility to protect the girl's life," Yadav said in a post on the social media platform X.