SP chief Akhilesh Yadav came under sharp attack from the BJP for his statement related to Goraknath temple security attack accused Ahmed Murtaza. Yadav had said that claims regarding Murtaza’s mental health problems should also be looked into as part of the investigation. Senior ministers in UP accused Yadav of indulging in Muslim appeasement politics and being a terrorist sympathiser and said his statement weakened the morale of the agencies investigating the case.

Yadav on Wednesday said Murtaza’s father’s claim that his son was suffering from psychiatric problems and had bipolar issues should also be looked into as the BJP is known to “stretch matters”. Reacting to this, deputy UP CM Keshav Prasad Maurya on Thursday said while it was the agencies’ job to decide whether the attacker was a criminal or terrorist, Yadav’s statement driven by “Muslim appeasement politics” has made light the issue of public security. UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh said, “If Akhilesh ji has a list of more such mental health patients then it should be sent to Yogi ji so that they can be given timely and appropriate treatment.”