india

Updated: Jan 16, 2015 23:55 IST

Uttar Pradesh urban development minister Azam Khan raked up another controversy on Thursday when he said a BJP MP may have thrown the bodies in the Ganga to malign the image of the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in the state.

Responding to a question about the bodies recovered in the Ganga in Unnao which is represented by BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj, Khan said, “He received the news first. He may have brought the bodies there in trucks and thrown them in the Ganga, perhaps to malign the image of the government.”

Meanwhile, Sakshi Maharaj demanded a CBI inquiry in the case. The Unnao MP, who visited Pariyar on Thursday, disputed the official tally of 104 bodies, saying he saw no less than 200 to 250 bodies. Maharaj said no minister had cared to visit the site in three days. “It shows how heartless the government and its ministers are. I demand a CBI inquiry,” he said.

State BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai also criticised Khan for his comments and demanded his dismissal. Recalling his earlier comments on various issues, Bajpai said the minister had become a “laughing stock and irrelevant” among people. He added that the Unnao administration had been making efforts to bury the bodies with the help of JCB machines without conducting a post mortem.