Gomti riverfront corruption allegations may return to trouble Shivpal Singh Yadav

Reports that the CBI intends to question Mr. Yadav in the corruption case come after his security cover was downgraded by the UP government in the wake of his campaigning for SP in the Mainpuri LS bypoll

With Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohiya president Shivpal Singh Yadav choosing to campaign for the Samajwadi Party candidate -- his nephew’s wife Dimple Yadav -- in the high-profile Lok Sabha bypoll in Mainpuri, after having earlier sent out feelers to the ruling BJP, old allegations of corruption in the Gomti riverfront project which he oversaw may come back to haunt him.

Speculations are rife in the power corridors of Lucknow that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is reaching out to the Uttar Pradesh government for permission to question Mr. Yadav in the case.. However, there is no official word yet from the CBI.

Mr. Yadav was UP’s Irrigation Minister in the Samajwadi Party (SP) government when most of the work for the Gomti riverfront project was done. The CBI, which is investigating the corruption case, has already sent the then-superintendent engineer of the Irrigation Department to jail, and has also sought permission from the UP government to question a retired senior IAS officer, Deepak Singhal, who was considered close to the SP regime.

Reports of the CBI seeking permission to question Mr. Yadav come soon after the BJP-led UP government downgraded his security cover from the Z to the Y category. The timing of these moves seems to hold significance in relation to Mr. Yadav’s political alliances, and the reunification of the SP’s first family at Mainpuri.

After winning the Assembly election on the SP symbol from Jaswantnagar, Mr. Yadav had sent feelers to the BJP by supporting the saffron party’s candidate Draupadi Murmu in the Presidential polls. He had also constantly targeted the SP for its alleged ill treatment against him. However, Mr. Yadav is now openly campaigning for the SP. The Jaswantnagar MLA has promised his nephew, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, that he will make sure that the party candidate Dimple Yadav wins from Mainpuri.