UP elections: After kabristan-shamshan remark; gloves off, each goes on offense — and offensive

A day after Modi accused the ruling SP of indulging in discrimination and said if a village gets a graveyard, it should also get a cremation ground, Akhilesh hit back by referring to a Gujarat tourism department video promoting the Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kutch: “Gujarat ke log to Gujarat ke gadhon ka bhi prachar karwa rahe hain, aur hum pe aarop laga rahe hain ki humne kewal kabristan aur keval unke liye kaam kiya hai (People of Gujarat are publicising their donkeys but accuse me of working only for graveyards and them (minorities)).”

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Elsewhere in the state, Mayawati too took on the Prime Minister after he told an election rally in Orai in Bundelkhand that BSP is no longer Bahujan Samaj Party but “Behenji Sampatti Party” — a reference to allegations that she had amassed wealth. Speaking in Sultanpur, Mayawati struck back, saying “Narendra Damodardas Modi means Mr Negative Dalit Man, he is anti-Dalit.”

Read | Akhilesh Yadav drags Amitabh Bachchan in UP fight with Modi; ‘stop endorsing Gujarat’s donkeys’

In Unchahar constituency of Rae Bareli, Akhilesh focused on the Gujarat government advertisement to take a swipe at Modi who was Chief Minister of Gujarat before he became Prime Minister.

Read | Mayawati defines Narendra Damodardas Modi as ‘Mr Negative Dalit Man’

He said he had ensured 24-hour supply of electricity in Varanasi, the Prime Minister’s Lok Sabha constituency, on the request of BJP MLA Shyam Deo Chaudhary. Questioning Modi, he said: “Aap Ganga maiya ki kasam khao aur batao Samajwadi Party ne 24 ghante bijli de rakhi hai ki nahi (Swear on the Ganga and tell us whether or not the SP has ensured 24-hour electricity supply).”

He asked the crowd if they had seen the advertisement of a “donkey” on television. “Hum to is sadi ke bade mahanayak se kahenge ki aap ab Gujarat ke gadhon ka prachar na kariye (I would request the superstar of this century to stop publicising the donkeys of Gujarat),” Akhilesh said — the Wild Ass Sanctuary video features actor Amitabh Bachchan who says the animal gallops at 70 kilometres per hour and so “being called an ass is not so bad after all”.

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Reading the script of the entire advertisement, Akhilesh asked people to think which way was the country headed. “70 kilometre prati ghante ki raftar se bhagte hain yeh bhaisaab. Bada handsome janwar hai. Sarva gun sampanna. Ek aisa gadha jo saare gadho ka naam roshan karta hai. Aise 4,500 hai yahan, aur khoob phal phool rahe hain Gujarat ke aangan mein,” he read from a paper.

He also questioned the Prime Minister over his remarks on “kabristan-shamshaan” and Ramzan-Diwali: “Kya bol rahe hain Pradhan Mantriji, kamaal ho gaya. Diwali par aur Ramzan par hum 24 ghante bijli dete hain. Kashi ke chune hue, kam se kam sach bolo (Elected from Kashi, at least speak the truth),” Akhilesh said.

In New Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu slammed Akhilesh for his remarks on “Gujarat’s donkeys” and said it was a sign of his fears of a defeat.

“The statement made by Akhilesh Yadav is not only deplorable but also betrays his anxiety as he stares at defeat,” Naidu told reporters.