Yogi Adityanath says '25 cr UP citizens are my family' in reply to Akhilesh Yadav's jibe

Rebutting Akhilesh Yadav's dig at his family, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Sunday, claimed that all 25 crore state citizens were his 'family'. Addressing crowds in Chandauli after launching various projects, Adityanath said that those who only developed only their families did not understand the real meaning of family. The 403-seat UP assembly where Yogi rules with an iron-clad majority of 314 seats, is up for grabs in February 2022.

Yogi: '25 cr UP citizens are my citizens'

"Development for them was growth among their families. They never treated the public in UP as their family members. For me, 25 crore people in Uttar Pradesh is my family, if Akhilesh Yadav understood the real meaning of family, he would never ask questions about my family," said Adityanath.

Taking a jibe at the Gandhi siblings, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, he added, "Development work in Uttar Pradesh should have been done much before. What were the pair of brother and sister, the two boys and the pair of ‘Babua’ and ‘Bua’ doing then? They never thought about the public in Uttar Pradesh".

On Wednesday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav took a veiled dig at CM Yogi Adityanath for 'not having a family'. Addressing a massive rally in Banda as a part of 'Samajwadi Vijay Yatra', Yadav contended that only those who have a family can understand the pain of the people. Lamenting the plight of migrant workers who walked back home during COVID lockdown, he said that only Samajwadi Party had extended help to the persons in distress including migrant workers or farmers. 

"Some of the migrant workers who walked (to UP during the lockdown) lost their lives. The government did not help them. If someone had helped, it was Samajwadi Party who came forward and gave them Rs.1 lakh," said Yadav.

"We have families and so when there was a mishap anywhere, Samajwadi leaders extended help. Only those who have a family can understand the pain of people. Those who don't have a family won't care for you," he added.

BJP polls 2022

With BJP fighting under the leadership of incumbent CM Yogi Adityanath, several fronts have cropped up to challenge the ruling BJP. SP chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav has stated that SP will only ally with smaller political parties for the 2022 Assembly polls, holding talks with Mahan Dal, NCP, SBSP. Mayawati has already announced that her party will fight polls alone in UP and Uttarakhand, while allying only with Akali Dal in Punjab. Congress has aggressively campaigned under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi in the state, eyeing its solo return.