First get your DNA checked: Akhilesh Yadav to Yogi Adityanath

Kanpur (UP): After Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's said the nature and the DNA of what happened in Ayodhya during Babur's era and now in Sambhal and Bangladesh are same, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday hit out at him saying he should first get his DNA checked.

Talking to reporters here, Yadav said, "I don't know how much science the chief minister knows and how much biology he has studied... But I want to request him that he should not talk about DNA." "Through you (media), and I am saying this with full responsibility, that he should not talk about DNA...and if he talks about DNA then we all want to get our DNA checked. The chief minister should also get his DNA checked... I want to get my DNA checked and the chief minister should also," he said.

"This talk of DNA does not suit him (Adityanath). Being a saint, a yogi in saffron robes, this language should not be used and this talk about DNA should not be done," he said.

Yadav was in Kanpur to attend a private function.

In Ayodhya, Adityanath had accused the Opposition parties of trying to divide society, saying what Mughal ruler Babur's army did in Ayodhya and is what is happening in Bangladesh and Sambhal.

The chief minister, who was in the temple town for the inauguration of the 43rd Ramayan Mela, said Lord Ram united the whole society.

"... 500 years ago, a general of Babur committed certain deeds in Ayodhya, similar acts in Sambhal, and what is happening today in Bangladesh... The nature and DNA of all three are the same," he said.

Ever since the Sheikh Hasina-led Bangladesh government was toppled in August after intense student protests, the Muslim-majority neighbouring country has reported widespread violence against religious minorities, including the Hindu community.

In Sambhal, violence erupted last month, leading to the killing of four Muslim men, over a survey of a local mosque.