A seemingly innocuous photo clicked at a wedding reception attended by leaders from different political parties has triggered a political slugfest in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.
The photo, which was taken at the wedding reception of Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu's granddaughter at Delhi, showed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and Samajwadi Party (SP) patron Mulayam Singh Yadav sitting together.
Mulayam's photo with Bhagwat triggered a sharp reaction from the Congress which said that it was reflective of a new SP in which 'S' denotes 'Sanghavad'. The grand old party wondered if Mulayam 'blessed' Bhagwat.
''Thank you Samajwadi Party. This is what we have been wanting to know. SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav has blessed Mohan Bhagwat...thank you again for making it clear to the people of the state,'' said a tweet from the UP Congress.
SP leaders were quick to respond to the Congress' tweet saying that the latter appeared to have forgotten ''political courtesy''.
''In the same function many leaders from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), an ally of the Congress in Maharashtra, also took blessings from Mulayam....what does the Congress have to say to that?'' a tweet from the SP said.
Congress, which is contesting the forthcoming Assembly polls in UP on its own, has been attacking the SP and the latest attack was apparently aimed at sending a message to Muslims that SP and BJP had a tacit understanding in the polls.
On the eve of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Mulayam had, while speaking in the House, heaped praise on the NDA government and even wished for Narendra Modi to become prime minister again.
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