Lucknow, September 05: Samajwadi Party Chief and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav made few allegations during a press conference held at the party office in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow. He opened up about the "Tap Theft" controversy which tarnished his public image in 2018. He blamed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's close aide and former IAS officer Awanish Awasthi for the infamous incident. He also said, "We are not going to forget this. The government should know it and the officials running the government should also know it."
He also said, “To spoil my image, that IAS officer Awanish Awasthi spread the tap theft story. I will never forgive him, I will never forget him.”
He said, "Main bhool nahi sakta hoon. Maine aapko kai baar kaha hai aur aaj bhi keh raha hoon – yeh Toti Chori wala maamla. Ek akhbar ne sting operation kiya tha, yaad kijiye aap. Ek patrakar ne puri jankari nikaali thi aur unhone kaha tha ki ek IAS officer Awanish Awasthi hai, aur ek aur officer OSD Kaushik tha jo bhaag gaya. Uski height dustbin jitni hai. Jaise bada dustbin aapne sheher mein dekha hoga, uske jitni height uski hai. Yeh humein ek pratishtit akhbar ke sting operation se pata chala tha. Toh yeh baat hum log bhoolne wale nahi hain. Aap log jaan lo, aur sarkar chalane wale bhi jaan lein."
(I cannot forget this. I have told you many times and I am saying it again today, the ‘tap theft’ matter. A newspaper had done a sting operation, remember that. A journalist had obtained the full information and had said that one officer was IAS Awanish Awasthi, and another officer, OSD Kaushik, ran away. He is like a dustbin. His height is equal to a dustbin. The big dustbin you must have seen in the city, his height is the same as that. Who had told us this? We got this information from the sting operation of a reputed newspaper. So this is something we are not going to forget. You should know this, and those running the government should also know this.)
What Was The ‘Tap Theft’ Controversy?
The controversy dates back to 2018, when Akhilesh Yadav vacated the Chief Minister’s official residence after his term ended. Soon after, reports spread on social media and in sections of the press that even bathroom taps and tiles had been stolen from the bungalow. The story went viral, creating a political storm. The BJP strongly attacked the Samajwadi Party over the matter and the incident was widely used to tarnish Akhilesh’s image.
