‘Someone on his way out’: Akhilesh Yadav’s latest jab at Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath

Samajwadi Party chief and Lok Sabha MP Akhilesh Yadav, in a veiled reference to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, said on Sunday that he is not bothered by remarks made by “someone on his way out.”

Yadav criticised the state’s law and order, saying that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government frequently faces criticism from the courts.

“Those who have no say in their own party, who will now pay heed to their words. Anyway, why should one feel bad by things said by someone on his way out,” Akhilesh Yadav said in a post in Hindi on X (formerly Twitter).

The Lok Sabha MP’s reaction came after Adityanath in a public rally hit out at him and said, “Those who used to consider power as their ‘bapauti’ (family property) have started realising that they will never return to Uttar Pradesh, that is why they are trying to conspire. They (SP) are trying to create anarchy. They have nothing to do with development and the safety of daughters and businessmen.”

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also attacked Yadav over the police encounter involving Mangesh Yadav, who was allegedly linked to a robbery at a jeweller’s shop in Sultanpur.

“You tell me, if a dacoit is killed in an encounter with the police then the Samajwadi Party feels bad. You ask these people what should have happened, ”Adityanath said.

Yadav had earlier claimed that Mangesh Yadav’s encounter was fake.

“Under whom IPS officers remained absconding for months; there is talk of police stations earning ₹15 lakhs per day; BJP members themselves are kidnapping the police; and where the Bulldozer Code has replaced the Penal Code; ‘law and order’ has become just a word,” the SP chief said in a post on Sunday.

“Those who have made it a habit to get rebuked by the court, it is better that they remain silent,” Akhilesh Yadav said.

With PTI inputs