Upset over Prayagraj shootout, UP CM Yogi Adityanath's rare outburst in assembly

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday (February 25) slammed opposition leader Akhilesh Yadav in the state assembly, even referencing his feud with his father, following tough questions over the public killing of a witness in a murder case a day ago.

Pointing finger at Akhilesh Yadav, CM Adityanath said, "Is it not true that Atiq Ahmed who has been accused by the victim's family, is part of the mafia fostered by the  Samajwadi Party and we have only worked towards breaking its back?"

Also read: Congress to propose legislation against hate crime, religious discrimination; check details

"Speaker sir, he is the godfather of all professional criminals and mafia. They have crime in their veins. And I am telling this house today, we will run this mafia to the ground," the Chief Minister, again wagging his finger at the Samajwadi Party chief, said.

CM Adityanath's outburst was rare as he had cultivated a far more measured public image since he took over the state in 2017, stowing away years of incendiary speeches as the founding leader of Hindu Yuva Vahini, a right-wing group.

As the assembly erupted in an uproar, the Samajwadi Party leader hit back, saying, "Criminals are yours." He had earlier accused the state's police in "Ram Rajya" of being a "total failure".

"There is daylight shooting, bombs are being hurled, and a witness is killed. What are the police doing? What is the government doing? Where are the double engines? Is this a film shooting," Yadav said.

"Sharam toh tumhe karni chahiye, apne baap ki samman nahi kar paye tum (you should be ashamed, you couldn't respect even your father)", CM Adityanath said, in reference to a falling out between the Samajwadi Party leader and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Also read: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on 2-day visit to India, meets PM Modi

The fiery exchange of works came to light after the opposition's questions about the killing of a witness in the murder case of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA who was shot dead in Prayagraj on Friday. The attack was caught on multiple CCTV cameras.

Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder case of MLA Raju Pal in 2005, was shot dead by an unidentified man while he was getting out of the backseat of an SUV on the bustling main road of Prayagraj, one of the vast state's largest cities.