Rahul, Priyanka visit temples only during polls: Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Tuesday attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, saying they visit temples only during elections.

Addressing a huge rally in Ghatlodiya area under the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, Adityanath also criticised the Congress over its announcement to alleviate poverty.

BJP president Amit Shah is the party candidate from Gandhinagar seat, which was earlier represented by the party patriarch L K Advani.

"They (Rahul and Priyanka, who is the AICC general secretary of eastern Uttar Pradesh) go to temples only during elections. They do not have time to visit holy sites if elections are not around," the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.

Adityanath was apparently referring to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's recently concluded Ganga Yatra from Prayagraj to Varanasi during which she visited several temples. Rahul Gandhi has also visited temples during campaigning in various assembly elections.

"The Congress is now saying that they will fight poverty. They should first answer why poverty increased during their rule. The Congress has ruled for 55 years but poverty kept rising," he said, a day after Rahul Gandhi promised to roll out a minimum income guarantee scheme for the poorest strata, if his party is voted back to power.

Adityanath praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 2016 cross-border surgical strikes andthe Balakot air strike, which was conducted in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.

"Many terror attacks were carried out during the UPA rule but when people asked that party to respond in the same coin to Pakistan, they said that we will think about it..we might do it, butnothing happened," he said.