Akhilesh takes jibe at Yogi after prime accused in Dadri lynching case spotted in rally

Attacking Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after the prime accused in the Dadri lynching case was seen in his election rally, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said such people raise slogans in support of the Chief Minister because they feel that he too is like them.

"There are many FIRs registered against him (Yogi Adityanath). They are the ones who raise the slogans because they think that he too is like them," Akhilesh told ANI.

Taking a jibe at Adityanath, Akhilesh said that the Chief Minister can do anything including telling the "the caste of Lord Hanuman". He further said, "Once he was asked how he will swat the monkeys away, he told the people to read Hanuman Chalisa".

Vishal Rana, the prime accused in the Dadri lynching case of September 2015, was spotted in the front row during in a rally of Adityanath in Bisara village on Sunday. The rest 16 accused were seen moving around, raising slogans like 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. All 17 accused are on bail.

On September 28, 2015, an unruly mob had attacked a Muslim family on suspicion of consuming and storing beef in Bisara village of Dadri region in Greater Noida. The mob, allegedly led by the accused, had beaten 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq to death. One of his sons was also thrashed brutally.

Speaking about his father and SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav who filed his nomination papers from Mainpuri today, Akhilesh said: "We are hoping that people of Manipuri will make Netaji victorious with a huge margin. I can say that the victory of Netaji in Mainpuri would emerge as one of the biggest wins in this Lok Sabha polls."

Uttar Pradesh will go to poll for its 80 parliamentary constituencies starting from April 11.