If UP turns into Kashmir...: Omar Abdullah hits back after Yogi Adityanath's remark
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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Srinagar: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday hit back at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his caution to the voters that Uttar Pradesh will become Kashmir if they make a mistake".
"He should be so lucky. J&K has less poverty, better human development indices, less crime & generally better standard of living than U.P. What we lack is good governance over the last 3-4 years but that is a temporary phenomenon," Mr Abdullah tweeted.
The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister was reacting to Yogi Adityanath's remark that he made in a six-minute video message on Twitter, on the eve of Thursday's polling for the first phase of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Yogi in his video said he was concerned that rioters, whose activities were curbed by his government, are now feeling uneasy. Terrorists are making threats, the firebrand BJP leader added.
"Be alert. If you miss this time, the five-year effort will be washed away. And it will take no time for UP to become Kashmir, Kerala or Bengal." "This vote will be your guarantee to a life without fear," Yogi Adityanath said in his appeal to voters.
Yogi's remark has set off a political storm drawing sharp reactions from former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Mr Gandhi, who represents Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, tweeted to say that the spirit of India, representing a union of States, people, cultures, languages and their diversity should not be "insulted".
Mr Vijayan tweeted to say that if U.P. turned into Kerala, it will not only enjoy better education, health services and living standards but also have a society in which "people won't be murdered in the name of religion and caste".