In an apparent reference to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's 'abba jaan' remarks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said what kind of a Yogi propagates hate.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister's office hit back at Gandhi, saying in a tweet, "If bulldozing the empire of criminals and miscreants is hate, then this hatred will continue unabated." Earlier, taking to Twitter, Gandhi posted, "Jo nafrat kare, woh yogi kaisa! (What kind of a Yogi propagates hate)."

After the Uttar Pradesh chief minister's office attacked Gandhi, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted, "One does not become a yogi merely by disguising himself as a sage. Harmony, virtue and goodwill should be reflected in his statements, personality and behaviour." Addressing a programme in Kushinagar on Sunday, Adityanath had alleged that people did not get rations before 2017 like they do now.

"Because then, people who say 'abba jaan' used to digest the rations. The rations of Kushinagar used to go to Nepal and Bangladesh. Today, if anybody tries to swallow the rations meant for poor people, he will land in jail," the chief minister had said.

'Abba jaan' is the Urdu term for father.

In a Facebook post, Gandhi also recalled the horrific Hathras incident, which took place a year ago.

"The wait for justice continues. Daughter of Hathras, daughter of the country," Gandhi said.

The horrific Hathras incident took place a year ago in which a young Dalit woman was allegedly raped by four men. The woman died on September 29 at Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital during treatment.