City mayor, a local BJP MLA and a former party legislator are among the 40 people whom the Ayodhya Development Authority has accused of illegally trading plots and building infrastructure on such land.

Taking a dig at the BJP on the issue, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said the saffron party’s “bhrashtachari” (corrupts) should at least spare Ayodhya.