The chief minister addressed four rallies in Maharajganj, Fazilnagar, Pipraich and Jaitpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, where polling for the Lok Sabha election will be held on the seventh and last phase on May 19. (PTI Photo) The chief minister addressed four rallies in Maharajganj, Fazilnagar, Pipraich and Jaitpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, where polling for the Lok Sabha election will be held on the seventh and last phase on May 19. (PTI Photo)

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Monday referred to Samajwadi Party as “kasaiyon ke dost” (friends of butchers) and claimed that he is a “Yogi” first, then anything else.

Speaking at a rally in Kushinagar Lok Sabha constituency, he said that closure of illegal slaughter houses were among the first few decisions his government took in the state. “Ab toh Nandi (the bull associated to Lord Shiva) bhi ja raha hain sapa ki sabha mein aur puchhta hai kasaiyon ke mitra kahan hain, inko main theek kar deta hun (Now Nandi is also going to SP rallies and is asking where are friends of butchers… I will set them right),” Yogi said, referring to a bull entering the venue of a joint rally by the alliance in Kannauj recently.

“I told Nandi that now elections are going on and Model Code of Conduct is in place, so he should not hit them right now and that he can complete his work after elections,” the CM said adding, the bull was saying that he would take revenge.

Claiming that there were four lakh cattle in the shelter houses constructed by the government across the state, the CM said that being a “Yogi”, he spends one hour with about 500 cows at the Gorakhnath temple and would never allow a cow to be slaughtered. He said that more would be done for the protection of cows and no stray cows would be seen around after the elections. He said that by taking care of the stray cattle, one would get “punya” (virtue) and not by leaving cows after taking the milk.

The chief minister addressed four rallies in Maharajganj, Fazilnagar, Pipraich and Jaitpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, where polling for the Lok Sabha election will be held on the seventh and last phase on May 19.

Adityanath also equated Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Lord Krishna, saying, “In Kumbh Mela, Modi ji washed the feet of sanitation workers like Lord Krishna washed the feet of Sudama.”

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Targeting the Congress and its leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Adityanath said that during one of her speeches, Priyanka said that the area of “Ram Lala” temple is “controversial” and asked the crowd if “Ram” could ever be controversial.

“Earlier, the Congress had given an affidavit before the Supreme Court saying that there was no existence of Lord Ram and Krishna. If they do not exist, to whom (Congress president) Rahul Gandhi worship in temples,” Adityanath said.

Taking a swipe at the Opposition alliance in the state, the CM said Samajwadi Party’s ‘bicycle’ will “puncture” under the weight of the Bahujan Samaj Party’s ‘elephant’. “The ‘bicycle’ will puncture as the elephant is riding it,” he said, referring to the poll symbols of the two parties.

(With inputs from PTI)

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