“Anyone obstructing a sanyasi’s continuous yagna for public service and public welfare will be punished,” Yogi Adityanath Office — a handle dedicated to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath — tweeted.
Apparently responding to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s dig at his saffron robes, Mr. Adityanath, through a verified Twitter account of his personal website and office, hit back at her dynasty.
“Those who inherited politics and engaged in politics of appeasement, forgetting about the nation, would hardly understand the meaning of public service,” tweeted Yogi Adityanath Office.
The tweet was posted hours after Ms. Vadra, at a press conference in Lucknow on Monday, slammed Mr. Adityanath for seeking “revenge” against alleged vandals during the Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests and asserted that “there is no place for violence and vengeance” in Hindu religion.
Ms. Vadra said Mr. Adityanath had donned saffron robes of a yogi but the “bhagwa” or saffron did not belong to him.
“The saffron is a symbol of India’s religious and spiritual traditions. It is a symbol of Hindu dharma. Follow that dharma,” Mr. Vadra said.“There is no place for violence and vengeance in that religion.” It was the first time in the country’s history that such a comment had been made by a Chief Minister that revenge would be taken against people, she added.
Using the hashtag “bhagwa mein lok kalyan” or public welfare in saffron, the Yogi Adityanath Office handle said Mr. Adityanath had donned saffron (robes) for public service, after renouncing everything. “He not only wears the saffron but also represents it. Saffron robes are for public welfare and nation building and Yogi ji is a pathik (pilgrim) on that path,” said the tweet.
Mr. Adityanath’s official Twitter handle and the Chief Minister’s Office are yet to respond to Ms. Vadra’s jibes.
