'Somebody is not greeting, and you can't even remove him': Akhilesh Yadav mocks BJP's infighting in UP

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav mocked the internal strife within Uttar Pradesh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the budget session in Parliament today. He highlighted the discord between Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, remarking that since their Lok Sabha election defeat, they haven't been able to greet each other, underscoring the "real pain."

In Parliament, Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at former Union Minister Anurag Thakur, saying, "I can understand the pain, you are no longer a minister, so the pain is greater. We can read your pain from your face."

Yadav further commented, "Since the Lok Sabha loss in Uttar Pradesh, someone is not greeting somebody, that’s the pain you have. We saw the video where no one is greeting each other, no one is looking at each other. And those who called themselves very powerful are not able to remove the one who was the reason behind the defeat."



Yadav's comments appeared to target the ongoing tensions between Yogi Adityanath and the central leadership. Following a NITI Aayog meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with the chief ministers and deputy chief ministers. A viral video from the meeting fueled speculations that PM Modi, JP Nadda, and Amit Shah were unhappy with Yogi Adityanath.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi entered the hall, and all leaders stood up to greet him with folded hands. However, Yogi Adityanath did not greet the PM, which has been interpreted as a sign of changing dynamics post-election.

Yadav also commented on the BJP's inability to remove Yogi Adityanath despite their defeat. "BJP managed to secure only 33 seats in Uttar Pradesh, while the Samajwadi Party secured 37 seats. In 2019, BJP had 65 seats, and in 2014, they secured 71 seats. It is being said that the BJP lost seats due to internal conflicts within Yogi's government and organization," he explained.

Yadav hinted that despite the loss, the BJP cannot remove Yogi Adityanath due to his strong influence. "Even after the defeat, the BJP cannot remove Yogi because he is so powerful that it could lead to a rebellion, which is why they are not removing him," he inferred.