Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday hit back at Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav's "un-upyogi" jibe, saying he was "un-upyogi" for those political parties who support the mafia, criminals, terrorists, smugglers and the corrupt.
"I am un-upyogi for those parties who supported mafia, criminals, terrorists, smugglers and the corrupt. When the government takes action against such people, then it is natural that these groups would oppose us," Yogi Adityanath told India Today.
The Chief Minister also defended the Income Tax raids on SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's aides. He said, "I saw yesterday the SP was getting pained at I-T raids. So, I asked someone, why? A journalist replied 'chor ki dadhi mein tinka'. Can anyone imagine how someone's wealth grows 200 times in five years?" Adityanath said. He added, "Would there have been action against criminals and mafias (if SP was in power?) Do these people deserve your vote?"
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On Saturday, Akhilesh Yadav had taken a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'upyogi' remark for Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, terming the present state government as 'un-upyogi'.
In a tweet, the SP chief and former chief minister of the state cited incidents of crimes against Dalits and women under the rule of CM Adityanath.
"The daughter of Hathras, the farmer of Lakhimpur, the businessman of Gorakhpur, the insecure women, the unemployed youth, the oppressed dalit-backward are all saying... the present government is not useful for Uttar Pradesh, it is useless," Yadav tweeted.
"UP is saying today that it does not want the BJP" the SP further wrote.
Meanwhile, Yadav has also accused the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister of getting his telephones tapped and listening to his talks every evening.
"All our telephonic conversations have been heard. This 'un-upyogi' chief minister himself listens to the recordings of some people every evening," Yadav alleged.
He also asked reporters to "remain alert, if you are speaking to me." The entire country knows that whenever the BJP is about to lose an election in any state, the frequency of the misuse of various enforcement agencies by the BJP rises, he further alleged.
(With input from agencies)