LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s run of temple visits while serving the 72-hour gag order of the Election Commission of India has not gone down well with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati. Moreover, the CM’s visit to a Dalit family in Ayodhya on Wednesday irked Mayawati further leading her to complain to the poll panel.
The EC on Monday had barred Adityanath from campaigning for 72-hours, starting 6 am on Tuesday, for alleged communal remarks he made while the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was in effect. Adityanath used his time away from electioneering to embark on a spree of temple visits. He was in Varanasi on Thursday — also the last day of the ban.
In Varanasi, the CM visited the Kashi Vishwanath temple, the Sankat Mochan Mandir as well as the prestigious and revered Garwah Mutt. Notably, the poll panel had barred Adityanath for his “Ali-Bajrangbali” jibe in response to BSP chief Mayawati’s open appeal for Muslims votes from Deoband rally on April 7. As a result, even Mayawati was barred from election activities for 48 hours.
Calling the visits a poll gimmick, Mayawati took to twitter to vent her ire. “This is an open violation of EC’s ban order. CM Yogi is resorting to theatrics by visiting temples in different cities, dining with Dalits and getting his visits publicised through the media with an intent to capitalise it in ensuing polls. Even the EC is also going soft on him. Why?” she tweeted.