Lucknow: A fresh political storm has erupted in Uttar Pradesh over remarks linked to Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav launching a sharp attack on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Addressing a press conference at the Samajwadi Party office in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav said he agreed “100 percent” with the Shankaracharya’s recent statement concerning the Chief Minister. Without elaborating on the full context of the seer’s remarks, Yadav questioned whether a Chief Minister who calls himself a ‘Yogi’ should make comments perceived as disrespectful toward a revered Shankaracharya. “Can someone holding such a constitutional post speak in this manner about a respected religious leader? Can conduct deteriorate to this extent?” he asked.
The issue has triggered a wider political debate, with opposition parties accusing the state government of undermining religious decorum, while the ruling side has yet to issue a detailed response to the fresh criticism. The development adds to the ongoing political friction between the Samajwadi Party and the BJP-led state government.
Meanwhile, in a significant political development on Sunday, senior leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui formally joined the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow. Siddiqui, who recently resigned from the Indian National Congress, was inducted into the party by Akhilesh Yadav in the presence of senior leaders. His wife and seven other leaders also joined the SP.
A prominent face in Uttar Pradesh politics, Siddiqui previously served as a Cabinet Minister in the Bahujan Samaj Party government led by Mayawati. After parting ways with the BSP, he had joined the Congress but stepped down last month, citing “unavoidable reasons” in his resignation letter addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Speaking at the press conference, Siddiqui said that despite being in different political parties over the years, he had always been influenced by the late Mulayam Singh Yadav and considered Akhilesh Yadav his leader.
With both the Shankaracharya controversy and high-profile political realignments unfolding simultaneously, the political temperature in Uttar Pradesh appears set to rise further in the run-up to upcoming electoral battles.
