Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh on Tuesday attacked Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, asking if the "love" for the Muslim vote bank prevented him from paying tributes to former state CM Kalyan Singh, who died after prolonged illness.
A Hindutva icon and an OBC Lodh caste leader, Kalyan Singh was the chief minister of the state when the Babri mosque in Ayodhya was demolished by "Kar Sevaks" in 1992.
He had died on Saturday after prolonged illness at a Lucknow hospital, after which his body was kept here for some time before the BJP leader's cremation with full state honours at Bansi Ghat in Bulandshahr's Narora town on Monday.
Attacking the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, Swatantra Dev Singh in a Hindi tweet said Yadav could not come barely one kilometre from his residence to Mall Avenue in Lucknow to pay tributes to Kalyan Singh.
"Has the love for the Muslim vote bank stopped him from paying tributes to the biggest leader of the backward class," he asked taking a swipe at Yadav.
On the night of Kalyan Singh's death, Akhilesh Yadav had condoled his death in a tweet but neither he nor any other SP leaders went personally to pay respects to the former UP CM like some other opposition leaders.
BSP chief Mayawati had gone to pay homage to Kalyan Singh. Kalyan Singh had earlier allied with SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav after quitting the BJP and launching his own outfit.
The bonhomie, however, lasted for a brief period.
Published 24 August 2021, 19:03 IST