Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath did not take a dip in the Ganga river in Varanasi on Monday as he knew the river water was dirty.
"The Bharatiya Janata Party spent crores of rupees on cleaning the Ganga but Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath knew that the Ganga is dirty. That's why he didn't take a dip. The question is, will Mother Ganga ever be clean? Funds flowed out, but the river hasn't been cleaned," Akhilesh quipped.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Varanasi, however, offered prayers and took a dip in the Ganga at Lalita Ghat on Monday before inaugurating the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project.
On Tuesday, Union Minister Anurag Thakur slammed the Samajwadi Party chief saying that the language used by him indicated his mindset.
"The language used by Akhilesh Yadav shows his mindset. It also shows the level of anxiety prevalent in Samajwadi Party. It is unfortunate and not expected from a former chief minister," Thakur said.
Akhilesh Yadav's comments on Tuesday were the latest in a series of political barbs traded between the SP and BJP -- two major contenders in the UP Assembly elections due to be held early next year. Earlier, he had attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the people spend their final days in Varanasi. The comment drew flak from the BJP which termed the comment as “cruel and uncivilized” and equated the former chief minister with Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Earlier, addressing a meeting at Gorakhpur, the prime minister had attacked the SP saying that red (the colour of SP's cap) signified danger for Uttar Pradesh.
Attacking the BJP, Akhilesh said that the double engine government of BJP at Centre and UP had failed to deliver to the people as both the engines had collided and prophesied that the people were anxiously waiting for Samajwadi Party to form a government in UP after the 2022 assembly elections.
He said that the repeal of the three agriculture laws by the Central government following the year-long farmers’ protest proved that the BJP had lost the confidence of the people and the days of the ruling party in office were numbered.
Riding on a `Vijay Rath’ in Jaunpur, Akhilesh exhorted like-minded opposition parties to unite and defeat the BJP.
“If all of us come together, it is possible to convince the people of Uttar Pradesh and win 400 seats in the upcoming assembly election,” the SP chief said.