'Akhilesh in Netherlands to buy dung'

Firebrand BJP MP Yogi Adityanath on Monday said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has gone to the Netherlands to “buy dung”, even as the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) demanded a ban on campaigning by Yogi in the forthcoming byelections to 12 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in the state.

Akhilesh is currently on a visit to the Netherlands with a delegation from the state to explore avenues to encourage agriculture and infrastructural sectors.

He would also be exploring the possibilities of setting up a cycle track in the state capital on the lines of the Netherlands, according to the officials here.

“Akhilesh Yadav has gone to the Netherlands to buy dung. His visit has nothing to do with development of the state,” said Adityanath, who has been entrusted with the responsibility of leading the BJP charge in the forthcoming byelections.
He was addressing party workers during a demonstration at Gorakhpur, about 275 km from here.

Yogi Adityanath, who is an MP from Gorakhpur, claimed that the information had been given to him by an official of the state government but he did not disclose the name of the official.

The ruling SP, in the meantime, demanded a ban on campaigning by Adityanath alleging that he has been trying to “incite” communal passion and delivering “provocative speeches,” which could trigger tension in the state.

SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said on Monday that the party had written a letter to the Election Commission seeking a ban on campaigning by Adityanath.
Adityanath was in the news recently after he reportedly said that communal violence took place at places where the minority communities formed 10 per cent of the population.

Recently, a video purportedly showing Adityanath threatening to get 100 Muslim girls converted to Hinduism if one Hindu girl is forcibly to converted had triggered a huge controversy with opposition leaders demanding action against the saffron leader.
Adityanath, the mahant of the famous Gorakhnath temple at Gorakhpur, is known for his hardline views on issues concerning “Hindutva”.