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New Delhi: An image of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with controversial former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia has gone viral on social media. The photograph is from Sunday when the chief minister inaugurated a mobile hospital in Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Complex. The hospital will be operated by Nayati Healthcare that is owned by Radia.

The details of the inauguration, along with the photograph, was tweeted out by the chief minister’s official account but the post was later deleted after it received flak on social media. “CM @yogiadityanath inaugurating a Medical Facility for pilgrims at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. CM Adityanath also conveyed his greetings for the on-going Navratri festival,” the deleted tweet said.

The chief minister’s office has offered no explanation in this regard.

Yogi’s cabinet colleague Ashutosh Tandon, who was present at the inauguration, has also tweeted out the image. The post can still be found on his timeline.

https://twitter.com/GopalJi_Tandon/status/1178302190844305410?s=20

The opposition Congress has latched onto the controversy, questioning the CM’s proximity to Radia, the one-time controversial lobbyist synonymous with the Radia tapes that were leaked at the height of the 2G ‘scam’.

“Yogiji and Niira Radia ka yeh rishta kya kehlata hai? (What is the relationship between Yogiji and Niira Radia?)” asked Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput.

“Sometimes we find Yogi Adiyanath’s photo with rape accused Chinmayanand, now we have got his picture with scam accused Niira Radia,” Rajput added. “This shows his soft corner for all accused.”

The BJP said it had no idea of any such photograph. “There should be no wrong perception based on any kind of photograph. Leaders regularly meet people,” party spokesperson Hero Bajpai said. “Radia is not convicted in the case so what is wrong in the photograph.”

Also read: Yogi’s Thakurwad ‘shields’ his Kshatriya peers Chinmayanand, Sengar, says opposition

The lobbyist behind Radia tapes

Radia shot into the limelight in 2009 during the then Congress-led UPA government’s tenure. Her telephonic conversations with several top industrialists, journalists and political leaders were leaked, suggesting a nexus that was influencing policy making.

The tapes, of Radia’s conversations recorded between 2007 and 2009, revealed the murky world of lobbying as they appeared to show that lobbyists, businessmen and even journalists were pushing for the DMK’s A. Raja to be given the telecom portfolio.

The phone tapping was ordered by the income tax department that was investigating former Union minister A. Raja’s alleged role in the 2G spectrum allocation case. In all, there were over 5,000 conversations between Radia and her clients, and they caused major embarrassment to the then Congress government.

Since then, Radia has forayed into the healthcare sector in Uttar Pradesh. She already owns a 351-bed super-specialty hospital in Mathura that was inaugurated in February 2016. The inauguration ceremony of the Mathura hospital saw the presence of Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, whose conversations with Radia were leaked in 2009.

Also read: This is why Yogi govt’s ‘quota within quota’ system will be a win-win move in Uttar Pradesh

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