Bihar’s Rashtriya Janta Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav has joined the bandwagon of those calling out Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adtiyanath for his recent controversial “Abba Jaan” remark. “It’s an absurd comment,” he said.

“Yogi Adityanath should talk about the people who say ‘pita jaan‘ (Hindi word for father) — how many of them have been given employment or education?” Mr Yadav asked in a video he shared on Twitter today, talking about the Hindi-speaking population in the state.

The comment was in reference to Yogi Adityanath’s widely criticised “Abba Jaan” (Urdu word for father) dig.

“This is just religion and caste-based politics under BJP’s rule, since elections (in Uttar Pradesh) are coming soon,” the Rashtriya Janta Dal leader added.

कथित योगी जी बताए,

‘पिता जान’ कहने वाले कितने लोगों को नौकरी, रोजगार, अच्छी शिक्षा और स्वास्थ्य व्यवस्था प्रदान की? ये बेरोजगारी,महंगाई व किसान के मुद्दों पर बात क्यों नहीं करते?

चुनाव देख तुष्टिकरण करने व भाषाई आतंक फैलाने के अलावा इनकी कोई योग्यता एवं उपलब्धि है ही नहीं। pic.twitter.com/IQ3VQ7GSwC

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) September 14, 2021

Yogi Adityanath has been criticised by several political rivals and social media users for his crude swipe at the Samajwadi Party, which lost power to the BJP in 2017. Setting the tone for assembly elections next year, he said at a public meeting on Sunday that prior to his government’s formation in the state, ration meant for the poor would be “digested” by those who utter “abba jaan.”

“Because then, people who say ‘abba jaan‘ used to digest the rations. The rations of Kushinagar used to go to Nepal and Bangladesh. Today, if anybody tries to consume the rations meant for poor people, he will land in jail,” he had said.

The Uttar Pradesh government has done no work so it is “obvious” that the chief minister will pass such a comment in view of the upcoming polls, Mr Yadav claimed.

His attack on jobs and unemployment comes on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Yogi Adityanath and said Uttar Pradesh is leading the biggest development campaigns of the country. “Uttar Pradesh has become a shining example of (the) double benefits of the double-engine government,” PM Modi had said earlier in the day.

“Crime rates have increased in UP, and casteism has also spread… but the BJP will not talk about that,” he added. “Any development issues for India are not a concern for them — be it inflation, unemployment, education or farmers’ issues.”

“They have no merits or achievements apart from appeasement politics and spreading linguistic terror,” Tejashwi Yadav wrote on Twitter.