Yogi Adityanath and Mallikarjun Kharge have traded barbs – spreading communal hatred vs appeasement politics – as campaigning for next week’s Maharashtra election enters the home stretch.
At a rally in Amravati this afternoon, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister served up a caustic reply Tuesday to the Congress boss’ comment about “(political) leaders in the guise of sadhus”.
Responding to that attack, Yogi referred to his rival’s childhood tragedy – his mother died when their home in a village in the former princely state of Hyderabad was burned down by an Islamic militia – and claimed Mr Kharge buried his feelings “for the sake of (the Congress’) vote bank”.
“Khargeji is angry with me. But, Khargeji, I am saying that for a yogi the country comes first. For my leader, Modiji, the country comes first. But, for you, appeasing the Congress is paramount.”
“His village was under the Nizam of Hyderabad… when India was under the British. There was a fire… this was when Hindus were being selectively killed. And, in this fire, his home was also burned down, in which his mother and family were killed. But Khargeji does not say this… because he knows if he says it, then Muslim votes will shift. He forgot the sacrifice of his family for the sake of votes.”
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister hit back after Mr Kharge, on Sunday, criticised Yogi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over contentious poll slogans like “batenge toh katenge“.
READ | “Batenge Toh Katenge”: Yogi Adityanath Makes Pitch For ‘Unity’
“Many (political) leaders live in the guise of sadhus and become politicians… some even become chief ministers. They wear gerua (saffron) clothes and have no hair on their heads…” the Congress boss said, “But I would say… either wear white clothes or, if you are a sanyasi, get out of politics.”
#WATCH | Mumbai: At the ‘Samvidhan Bachao Sammelan’, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge says, “Many leaders live in the guise of sadhus and have now become politicians. Some have even become chief ministers. They wear ‘gerua’ clothes and have no hair on their… pic.twitter.com/wLnFkNNNz7
— ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2024
“On the one hand you wear gerua clothes… on the other you say ‘batenge toh katenge‘. They are spreading hatred among the people and are trying to divide them,” he declared.
The sharp jibes were in reference to comments by Yogi Adityanath in August.
Speaking in Agra, he cited the example of chaos then in Bangladesh and said, “You see Bangladesh… those mistakes should not be repeated here. ‘Batenge to katenge, ek rahenge to nek rahenge‘.”
He had accused the opposition of being more concerned about votes than the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh after ex Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country.
With input from agencies
NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.
