LUCKNOW: A day after evading questions on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's 'batenge toh katenge' slogan, his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday described it as a call for unity and asked why was the opposition having a "stomach ache" over the slogan.
The slogan, frequently used by Adityanath on the campaign trail, has united the opposition in its condemnation ahead of the November 20 bypolls, claiming that it has communal overtones.
"The clear message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the slogans -- 'If we stay united, we will be safe, if we divide, we will be cut' -- that emerged from their speeches is a symbol of the unity and determination for all workers. There are no differences of opinion in the BJP, nor there was, nor will there will be," Maurya said in a post in Hindi on X.
"This slogan comes straight from the hearts of party workers like me. The BJP's slogan is 'If we stay united, we will be safe',' he added.
Taking potshots at the opposition parties, the deputy chief minister asked why was the Samajwadi Party, Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party "having stomach aches due to this unity"? "If the pain is unbearable, get it treated, take medicines," he added.
A day earlier, Maurya had created flutters in the political circles of Uttar Pradesh by refusing to comment on Adityanath's "batenge toh katenge" slogan, saying questions about it should be directed to the chief minister.
On Sunday, sharpened his attacks at the main opposition Samajwadi Party over its PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) pitch.
"We have to respond to the fake "PDA" abuses spread by the Samajwadi Party and its chief Akhilesh Yadav in the same way Lord Krishna replied to Shishupal. In 2024, the Cycle (SP's poll symbol) has to be punctured by making the lotus bloom so that the polls deposits of SP candidates are forfeited."
"The Samajwadi Party has to be turned into a 'samaaptvaadi' party by deepening the wounds of the crushing defeats it faced in 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2022 (elections)," he said in a post in Hindi on X.
Bypolls to nine assembly seats -- Katehari in Ambedkar Nagar, Karhal in Mainpuri, Meerapur in Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, Majhawan in Mirzapur, Sisamau in Kanpur City, Khair in Aligarh, Phulpur in Prayagraj and Kundarki in Moradabad -- will be held on November 20.
Eight of these seats fell vacant after their MLAs were elected as Lok Sabha MPs, while the bypoll on the Sisamau seat has been necessitated due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case.
The Congress is not contesting the bypolls and is supporting its INDIA bloc partner Samajwadi Party.
