UP Elections 2022 | Haj house, abba jaan: Yogi's latest religion barbs at SP

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister delivered another controversial statement during his campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Yogi Adityanath visited Ghaziabad in west UP and conducted door-to-door campaigning, given that there are restrictions on physical rallies and roadshows due to Covid. The BJP leader was accused of drawing religious lines during a speech.

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He said that while the previous Samajwadi Party government had built a Haj house in Ghaziabad, his government had built a Kailash Mansarovar Bhawan.

Repeating an earlier barb, Yogi also referred to former UP CM and Akhilesh's father Mulayam as 'abba jaan'. "Samajwadi Party says it will bring back the old pension system. When the old system was scrapped, Akhilesh's 'abba jaan' (father) was the chief minister. He (Mulayam Yadav) was CM for 4 more years. Then, for 5 years Akhilesh himself was CM. But he did not think about state government employees," he said.

Adityanath followed up by saying that the BJP has maintained social equilibrium. "BJP has maintained social equilibrium and given representation to all communities. At the same time, on the issues of nationalism, development, and good governance, no compromises have been made," he said.

A day earlier, the BJP leader had reportedly said that previous governments tried to make Kashmir in UP. He was referring to the alleged exodus of some Hindu families from Kairana.

The latest statements come days after Yogi's 80-20 comment received backlash from the Opposition parties. Yogi had said that the contest in UP is between 80 and 20. He said that 80% people stand with development and therefore BJP, and 20% stand with goons and mafia, and therefore with the Opposition. Yogi's opponents had interpreted the comment as an allusion to the ratio of Hindu and minority population in UP.

UP will vote in 7 phases from February 10, with results being announced on March 10.