Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath responded to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's recent criticism by saying Kharge should be angry with the Hyderabad Nizam, whose "Razakars burned your village."
"These days Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is unnecessarily getting angry at me. He is furious. Kharge ji, don't get angry at me, I respect your age. If you want to get angry, get angry at the Hyderabad Nizam. The Hyderabad Nizam's Razakars burned your village, brutally killed Hindus, and burnt your respected mother, sister, and your family members. Present this truth before the country that whenever they will be divided, they will be divided in the same brutal manner," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
This comes after Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday indirectly referred to Yogi Adityanath, saying that some people who "pose as sadhus" have entered politics.
The Razakars were a paramilitary group formed by the Nawab of Hyderabad before Independence to oppose the region's integration with India.
Yogi Adityanath accused Congress of being "greedy for power" and claimed that it agreed to the Partition of India under the influence of "the Muslim gang".
"There are many elections. But some elections become important. There are some elections which make the fate of the country and some which spoil the fate of the country. In 1946 also, there was an election which changed the fate of India, which turned the fate into misfortune. The unfortunate partition of India took place. Then the Congress, greedy for power, got caught in the clutches of the Muslim gang which deceived the countrymen and whatever happened after that was in front of everyone. The country was divided into parts. India, which was one from the beginning, was divided into pieces," he added.
Adityanath, speaking at a public meeting in Achalpur, Amravati, ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, accused the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance of turning Maharashtra into a "base for love jihad and land jihad."
He added, "Because you were divided, this country was divided, and Hindus were killed because they were divided. That is why I have come to tell you: don't get divided."
In the 2024 general elections, Congress won the Amravati constituency, defeating BJP candidate Navneet Rana by about 20,000 votes.
"Don't make the mistake of Lok Sabha elections in Amravati. If you are divided again, the puja for Lord Ganesh will be attacked and lands here will be captured in the name of love and land jihad. The safety of women will be in jeopardy," he added.
Mallikarjun Kharge criticized Yogi Adityanath during an election rally on Sunday.
"Many leaders live in the guise of sadhus and have now become politicians. Some have even become chief ministers. They wear 'gerua' (saffron) clothes and have no hair on their heads... I would say to the BJP, either wear white clothes or if you are a sanyasi, wear 'gerua' clothes, but then get out of politics. On the one hand, you wear 'gerua' clothes and on the other hand, you say 'batoge toh katogey'...They are spreading hatred among the people and trying to divide them," he said.