 "UP CM Adityanath targets Samajwadi Party on Pakistan and Jinnah")
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday hit out at Samajwadi Party and its leader Akhilesh Yadav, calling them supporters of Pakistan and "worshippers of (Muhammad Ali) Jinnah".
The jibe came a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the issue of farmers' sugarcane should be raised in the elections and not the name of Jinnah.
"They are worshippers of Jinnah, we are worshippers of Sardar Patel. Pakistan is dear to them, we will sacrifice our life for Maa Bharati (Mother India)," Adityanath said in a tweet in Hindi without taking names.
His post ostensibly refers to SP president's recent statements on Pakistan and its founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
In another tweet, Adityanath said, "When they were (in power)... devotees of Ram were fired upon, Kanwar Yatras were cancelled. Exploits (karnamey) like Safai Mahotsav took place. We are (in power)... dream of Sri Ram Lala Virajman came true. Flowers were showered from a helicopter on Kanwariyas, Deepotsav and Rangotsav become the identity of Uttar Pradesh."
He was referring to the police firing on Ram devotees in Ayodhya when SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav was the chief minister of the state in 1990.
Earlier this month, Adityanath made the '80 versus 20' comment, subtly highlighting the religious composition of Uttar Pradesh. He had said that the assembly election is of '80 versus 20', and that 80 per cent of the voters are with the BJP.
Before that, he referred to Akhilesh Yadav's father Mulayam Singh as "abba jaan" (Urdu for father).
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"When pension was stopped, his 'abba jaan' was CM. Then he (Akhilesh) himself was the chief minister but he did not think about government employees then," Adityanath claimed.
Political experts believe that the language of political leaders will become more polarising as polling approaches for the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.