Toilets painted saffron in Akhilesh's home turf

Painting the toilets, constructed under the  Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, in saffron  in Etawah district has triggered a fresh controversy.

Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said that it was "humiliation" of the gods. Etawah is Akhilesh's home district.

According to the reports, about 100 toilets at Amritpur village in Etawah district, about 175 km from here, have been painted in saffron reportedly by the villagers.

Reports said that the villagers felt that the village would get more development schemes after painting the toilets in saffron. "Chief minister Yogi Adityanath likes saffron colour very much...he will take a special interest in the development of the village,'' said a villager.

The district officials said that they had no objection to painting the toilets in saffron if the people so desired.

Akhilesh, however, took potshots at the BJP government for doing so and termed it "humiliation" of the gods.

"It (toilets) is also called izzatghar (prestige home)....BJP has not even spared the gods," Akhilesh told reporters here on Thursday.

Recently a massive controversy had erupted after the state government had painted the boundary wall of the UP Haj House in saffron. Muslim clergy had reacted sharply and termed it as an interference in the religious matter of the community.

The government backed down after facing severe criticism and the walls of the Haj House was re-painted in white a day later.

The move comes within days of the decision to get the cover pages of all primary school textbooks in saffron from next academic session. The government have already distributed saffron school bags for the primary class students.

Adityanath, who is always clad in saffron clothes, had recently got the secretariat building at annexe painted in saffron. The chief minister had been, since taking charge of the state, trying to give government schemes and projects a saffron tint. The state transport corporation also has got a saffron makeover.