Swear by 'Ganga Maiyya' on power supply issue: Akhilesh to PM

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today contested Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim about discrimination in power supply during Ramzan and Diwali in Uttar Pradesh and asked him to swear by "mother Ganga" if there was any disparity.
Giving an interesting twist to the no-holds-barred election campaign, Akhilesh also appeared to target Modi as he "appealed" to megastar Amitabh Bachchan not to "campaign for the donkeys of Gujarat".
Addressing a rally in Unchahar Assembly constituency in Rae Bareli district, the Chief Minister claimed that he has ensured 24-hour power supply for Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Modi, after a request from veteran BJP MLA Shyamdeo Roy Chowdhury.

"If he (Modi) claims himself to be the son of 'Ganga Maiyya' (mother Ganga), then he should answer whether SP is giving 24-hour power supply to Varanasi or not," he said.
"Khao Ganga Maiyya ki kasam ki Samajwadi sarkar ne Varanasi mein 24 ghanta bijli nahi di (swear by mother Ganga that the SP government did not provide 24-hour electricity in Varanasi," Akhilesh said, in a message for Modi.
During an election rally in Fatehpur yesterday, Modi had accused the state government of adopting biased approached in all the works undertake by the state government.

He had said, "....If electricity is provided on Ramzan, then it should be provided on Diwali also. If electricity is provided on Holi, it should be provided on Ramzan too. There should be no discrimination."

Akhilesh also had a piece of advice for Amitabh Bachchan.
Without taking Amitabh's name, Akhilesh referred to the advertisement in which the megastar, the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism, is seen inviting tourists to visit the Wild Ass Sanctuary located in Little Rann of Kutch in the state.
"Ek gadhe ka vigyapan aata hai. Main iss sadi ke sabse bade mahanayak se kahunga ke ab aap Gujarat ke gadhon ka prachar mat kariye (There's an ad on TV which shows donkeys. I appeal to century's biggest star, please stop endorsing the donkeys of Gujarat)," he said.
The SP chief went on to ask, "What will happen if the donkeys also start getting advertised?"

The bitter remarks came at a time when parties are racing to the finish line of the state polls described by many as the semi-final before the 2019 Union election.