 "BJP leaders remind Akhilesh about Sinha's 'ISI agent' barb at Mulayam")
Hitting out at Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav for supporting opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the July 18 presidential election, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak sought his response on Friday over an old statement of Sinha calling SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav an ISI agent.
On the other hand, the SP described both the deputy chief ministers as "pracharjeevi" (propagandist) and asked them about the role of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leaders during the country's freedom movement.
Maurya and Pathak shared an old newspaper clipping on Twitter that featured Sinha's statement referring to SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav as an agent of Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Maurya shared the clipping from an English newspaper, titled "Mulayam is an ISI agent", in which the allegation was made by Sinha.
Maurya shared the same article and tweeted: "SP president Akhilesh Yadav, what will you say about the statement made by the person you are supporting for the post of president on Mulayam Singh Yadav!"
Hours later, Pathak shared the news clipping on the microblogging website and wrote: "By supporting the person who called Mulayam Singh Yadav an ISI agent, Akhilesh yadav has once again presented the 'sanskar' of the SP before the state."
Responding to these tweets, the SP, from its official Twitter handle, wrote: "Pracharjeevi Deputy Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, tell us what was the role of your leaders and party in the freedom movement of the country?"
Voting for the presidential election will be held on Monday. The preparations for voting in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly are being finalised and the state's main opposition SP's ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) has announced its support to Droupadi Murmu, the candidate of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The SBSP has six MLAs in Uttar Pradesh. Akhilesh Yadav's uncle and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) president Shivpal Singh Yadav, who is also an SP MLA, has already announced his support for Murmu.