Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) : After a shoe was hurled at Swami Prasad Maurya during a party event, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring to target a prominent leader of the backward community.

"The conspiracy to spoil this event and disrespect a big leader of the backward community was done on the instructions of BJP and the government," the SP chief said. 

"Those who talk about 'zero tolerance', I want to tell them there is no 'zero tolerance' here. Anyone can enter an event and disrespect a senior leader. We all are people's representatives, we are answerable to people. If we are not secure, what will we say to them?" he added.

Samajwadi Party chief further said that those leaders who are getting targeted must be given security by the state government.

Earlier today a man hurled a shoe at Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya in Lucknow at the party's OBC Mahasammelan.

Police said that the man who attacked the SP leader Maurya was taken into custody.

Maurya joined the SP from the BJP just before the 2022 assembly election.