'Words, not clothes make one a yogi': Akhilesh takes jibe at Adityanath for his 'batenge to katenge' remark

Taking a dig at saffron clad Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath his use of 'foul language', Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that a person cannot not claim to become a 'yogi' simply by wearing certain type of clothes.

''Jis tarah ki bhasha istemal ho rahi hai usse lagta hai ki unki yogyata ke bare bhi janana chahiue....koi vyakti vastra se nahin, vachan se yogi hota hai'' (The kind of language being used necessitates us to know about his qualifications. One becomes a yogi not by clothes but by words), Akhilesh told reporters here after a function at the SP office here.

The SP president was apparently referring to Adityanath's ''batenge to katenge'' (if Hindus are divided then they will be slaughtered) remarks.

''A great saint always speaks less and whenever he speaks it for the welfare of the people but here everything is upside down how can a person claim to be a yogi when he considers himself above everyone?,'' he said.

The SP leader also referred to the imposition of a fine of Rs 25 lakh on the UP government by the Supreme Court over demolition of the house of a man without giving him notices and said that never before had the apex court fined a government for using bulldozers to raze a house.

Akhilesh had earlier said that the people of the country would not be swayed by remarks like ''batenge to katenge'' . ''Like the British, the BJP also believes in divide and rule,'' he had said.

Adityanath, in his election meetings in the poll bound states of Maharasthra and Jharkhand, have been extensively using his ''batenge to katenge'' remarks.