Jaipur, April 11 Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday criticized Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, calling him a "fake religious leader," who demands "certificates from others but has none of his own."
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav alleged widespread irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, claiming that the names of SP supporters had been removed from voter lists.
When asked about alleged death threats to spiritual leader Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and the latter's conflicts with the UP government, Yadav said that Shankaracharya was fighting against "fake religious leaders."
"The respected Shankaracharya's views are important for us. He is fighting several fake religious leaders. There is one fake religious leader who demands certificates from others but has none of his own," he said.
"He claims he wakes up at 3 am but his movements are unsteady during yoga. His name is Ajay Singh Bisht," Yadav said, referring to the CM's name at birth. Adityanath is also the chief priest of the Gorakhnath Math in Gorakhpur.
The SP president said that the BJP government was attempting to influence institutions, but the Pichhda (backward), Dalit, and Alpsankhyak (minority) community would challenge the party in next year's elections.
He claimed that in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, Form-7 was misused to delete the names of Samajwadi Party supporters.
"Our workers closely monitored the process and found that fake signatures were used to remove voters. Even after we raised the issue with the Election Commission, no action has been taken against any official," he said.
He alleged that the Election Commission of India was not impartial and was acting at the behest of the BJP.
Yadav said that his party workers were now checking voter lists at every polling station to ensure that no names were wrongly deleted.
"We will verify every polling station to ensure that our votes are not tampered with," he said.
He alleged that the BJP was using institutions to harass opposition leaders across states, but claimed that this strategy was backfiring in Uttar Pradesh.
"They harass the opposition in states through the Election Commission, but in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP itself is in trouble," he said, adding that any extension in the SIR exercise was done at the behest of the ruling party.
Yadav also accused the BJP of trying to "rewrite history" and impose its narrative, alleging that it was attempting to erase the past to create its own version of history.
Yadav expressed confidence that the opposition INDIA bloc would emerge stronger in the coming period.
Referring to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Yadav said that when he had met Kumar earlier, it appeared that he could emerge as a prime ministerial candidate. "But he will now retire as a Rajya Sabha MP," he said.
Earlier, he addressed the Harmonious Heritage Summit held in Jaipur and highlighted the importance of social harmony, saying it was key to ensuring progress and prosperity.
"Jaipur is known as the Pink City, and the colour pink symbolizes harmony, as it is a blend of red and white. Harmony leads to peace, which in turn creates conditions for prosperity and equal opportunities," he said.
He said that combining traditional knowledge with innovation could help transform India's cultural diversity into a driver of social cohesion and global influence.