Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said people in the state want change.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav took potshots at incumbent Yogi Adityanath and his government today over a recent controversial comment by the latter in the build up to the state legislative polls. The senior BJP leader had a few days ago passed an apparent jibe at the state's Muslims deploying, in a rather offensive manner, the term "abba jaan", used by many of them to address their fathers.
Mr Yadav, chief of the Samajwadi Party which ruled Uttar Pradesh before Mr Adityanath took power in 2017, said the realisation that the BJP government was on its way out had prompted a change in the Chief Minister's language.
"The BJP government is set to go. Hence the CM's language has changed. UP people want change. People want work done like was happening during the SP regime," Mr Yadav said today at a press conference in Lucknow, the state's capital.
Addressing a programme in Kushinagar on Sunday, Mr Adityanath had alleged that people did not get their monthly rations before 2017 like they do now.
"Because back then, people who say 'abba jaan' used to digest away 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," he had said.
Abba jaan is an endearing term for father in the Urdu language, which most Muslims of Uttar Pradesh are said to speak.
Mr Adityanath's comments have drawn sharp criticism from political leaders as well as regular citizens.
"Terms like 'unity in diversity' are used for our country. The country belongs to all. No remarks should be made that harm the country," said Lalan Singh, President of the BJP's ally JDU, and a confidant of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The RJD's Tejashvi Yadav asked how many of those who call their fathers "pita jaan" -- a play on the Sanskrit or Hindi term for father -- got jobs, education, and health facilities.
"Why doesn't he talk about unemployment, price rise, and the farmers' issue? He has no achievement or eligibility other than spreading terror through language to appease some with a view on elections," said the Bihar leader of the opposition in a tweet composed in Hindi.
Many Twitter users posted fond memories of their fathers, some even posting photographs, as a comeback against the apparent pejorative use of the term by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. They used #AbbaJaan and #HamareAbbaJaan (our or my father) to make their point.
The use of the term by Mr Adityanath has been perceived by some as a move to polarise voting on religious lines. One person has filed a petition before a court in Bihar saying he was insulted by the remarks of the BJP leader.