Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had made a remark on "people who say 'abba jaan'". (File)
Political parties have slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his remark on "people who say Abba Jaan" in an apparent attack against the Muslim community and the Samajwadi Party.
Addressing a programme in Kushinagar on Sunday, Mr Adityanath alleged that people did not get rations before 2017 like they do now. "Because then, people who say 'abba jaan' used to digest 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," the chief minister said.
"Abba Jaan" is an Urdu language term for father.
National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah took to Twitter to criticise the chief minister's remark. "I've always maintained the BJP has no intention of fighting any election with an agenda other than blatant communalism & hatred with all the venom directed towards Muslims. Here is a CM seeking re-election claiming that Muslims ate up all the rations meant for Hindus," he said.
Terming Mr Adityanath's remark "unparliamentary", Samajwadi Party MLC Ashutosh Sinha said, "The use of unparliamentary language in the capacity of a chief minister does not suit him, and it shows that he is less educated. This is because those who are well-educated use proper and dignified language. A person who is occupying a Constitutional post should refrain from using such language. Use of such language is also sad for democracy."
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said, "The language used by the UP chief minister tarnishes democracy, and it is aimed at dividing the society."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)