LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has come forward again with a controversial statement against Kerala. Highlighting the incidents of post-poll violence in Kerala and West Bengal, Adityanath said, “I want to ask, are elections held this peacefully in Bengal? Recently, Bengal held Vidhan Sabha elections and BJP workers were tortured. Anarchy was at its peak. Several people were killed. Similar was the case in Kerala. The violence, the political killings that have happened in these two states, where else has it happened?” He reiterated that there would not be much delay for Uttar Pradesh to become Kerala. Adityanath’s statement came prior to the second phase of polls in Uttar Pradesh.

The chief minister had made a similar controversial remark against Kerala ahead of the first phase of polls in Uttar Pradesh. He had warned voters to vote cautiously if they did not want the state to turn into Kashmir, Kerala or Bengal. Several leaders of Kerala’s ruling party as well as the opposition, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had reacted strongly to this statement.

“If UP turns into Kerala as Yogi Adityanath fears, it will enjoy the best education, health services, social welfare, living standards and have a harmonious society in which people won't be murdered in the name of religion and caste. That's what the people of UP would want”, Pinarayi Vijayan had then tweeted in response. Kerala is a state with a strong social base built on secularism, democracy and modern values. It is a place inaccessible for Sangh Parivar as communal politics cannot thrive here. It is there agenda to spread evil propaganda against Kerala. The current remarks on Kerala comes in view of this, said the chief minister.