Non-BJP Parties Lash out at Adityanath for Negative Reference to Kashmir, Kerala, Bengal

Kolkata: Non-BJP political parties in West Bengal on Thursday asserted that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's "attempt to polarise people of his state" will fail, after he made references to Kerala, Kashmir and the eastern state "in a negative way" while seeking votes for the saffron party.

Appealing to people to vote for BJP, Adityanath, in a video message, said that their votes will decide the future of Uttar Pradesh, and cautioned people against "making a mistake" that will turn the northern state into Kashmir, Kerala or West Bengal in no time.

"I will tell you something that is in my heart...a lot of wonderful things have happened in these five years. Beware! If you miss (the chance of voting for the right party), the labour of these five years will be spoiled. It would not take much time for Uttar Pradesh to become Kashmir, Kerala and Bengal..." he said in the video shared by UP BJP on Twitter on Wednesday.

Reacting to the statement, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen said that Adityanath is desperately trying to divide people, "which is an old game of the BJP when it finds the going tough".

"The BJP has sensed defeat in the upcoming UP elections, which is why it is now trying to sow discord among people of the northern state by portraying amity and peace in West Bengal in a negative light.

"West Bengal will never become Adityanath's UP, instead UP will set an example of harmony and amity by dislodging him from power," the TMC leader said.

CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said that Adityanath"s comment was a "blatant attempt at polarising the peace-loving people of UP".

"We don't subscribe to Adityanath's vision of India, which is an affront on our mosaic of different faiths and religions. We oppose his idea of Hindu Rashtra," the CPI(M) central committee member said.

Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that Adityanath knows nothing about the eastern state and its secular traditions.

State BJP, however, claimed that the UP CM was referring to the law and order situation in West Bengal.

"He referred to the law and order situation in West Bengal. The entire country knows how our party workers were killed, and women family members of our supporters raped by TMC goons during post-poll violence. The situation in UP is far better than in West Bengal," BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said.

The Adityanath-led BJP government is seeking a second consecutive term in Uttar Pradesh, while TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is campaigning for his main challenger Samajwadi Party led by Akhilesh Yadav.

The BJP had won 312 of the 403 seats in UP Assembly in last elections in 2017, while SP secured only 47 seats.

Banerjee, while recently campaigning for SP candidates, called for defeating the BJP. She referred to her pet projects in West Bengal, and said that UP will get good governance if SP comes to power, and atrocities against minorities, dalits and women will end.