Yogi Adityanath earlier accused Arvind Kejriwal of "serving biryani" to protesters at Shaheen Bagh.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today mocked Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal for chanting the Hanuman Chalisa on television, saying that if this trend continues, people will soon see even Hyderabad politician Asaduddin Owaisi doing the same.
"For now, only Kejriwal has started reciting the Hanuman Chalisa. Just wait and see: you will even find Owaisi reading the Hanuman Chalisa one day," he said at a rally in Kirari ahead of the Delhi assembly elections.
Muslims constitute a major part of AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi's voter base. He and Yogi Adityanath have often sparred over subjects such as the Citizenship Amendment Act protests and welfare schemes undertaken in the city.
Yogi Adityanath went on to say that Arvind Kejriwal - who heads the Delhi government - cannot reconcile himself to the fact that the BJP-led centre has found "fitting solutions" to various problems facing the nation. He listed the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir's special status and the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya issue among these solutions.
Arvind Kejriwal had told a television channel on Monday that he was a "Hanuman bhakt", and went on to recite the devotional hymn in front of a cheering audience. The AAP leader, who is hoping to win a second term as Chief Minister, also said that he was a regular visitor to a Hanuman temple at Connaught Place.
The declaration came at a time when Arvind Kejriwal is facing unrelenting attacks from many BJP leaders. Yogi Adityanath has claimed that the ruling AAP government is siding with protesters against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Shaheen Bagh, and even accused it of providing them with "biryani". Union Minister Prakash Javadekar even went so far as to say that there was plenty of proof that Arvind Kejriwal is a "terrorist". The Aam Aadmi Party has approached the Election Commission against the BJP.
Delhi goes to vote on Saturday, and the results will be announced on February 11.
(With inputs from ANI)