Cold vibes between Modi, Akhilesh for all to see

While Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Friday flew down to Varanasi to receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his maiden visit to his parliamentary constituency, the cold vibes between the two were not to be missed by those present.

Modi alighted from the special Indian Air Force plane and was greeted by Governor Ram Naik on the tarmac.

Modi spoke to him warmly, but chose a mere handshake with casual pleasantries with the chief minister.

When Modi turned back to check on Akhilesh Yadav, he was told that he was going to Agra for pre-scheduled engagements.

Modi moved on and left with his entourage in a waiting chopper.

The prime minister said at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Textile Facilitation Centre in Bada Lalpur that while he desired that the centre be close to the city, the state government did not allot the land the centre had sought.

Modi rued that the present land was a little far from the city.

In Jayapur, the village Modi adopted under the Adarsh Gram Yojana for parliamentarians, the prime minister urged people not to look for help from the state government and get exhausted running to Lucknow but try and develop a cohesive social movement where people themselves try and find solutions.

Responding to Modi's statement on the land for the TFC, Akhilesh Yadav said in Agra that his government was ready to give the land of choice to the union government.

"If the present land is not appropriate for the centre, we are willing to give them the land they wanted initially," he told reporters.

Both Modi and Akhilesh Yadav had traded charges in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. The Samajwadi Party was stunned when its tally slipped to a mere five and the BJP stormed the state, winning a staggering 71 seats. Uttar Pradesh sends a total of 80 members to the Lok Sabha.