New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS): Commenting on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's recent remarks targeting the 'laal topi' worn by Akhilesh Yadav and his Samajwadi Party (SP) workers, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma said on Saturday that those flaunting red caps are befooling the people.

Speaking to IANS, Sharma, who served as Deputy to Chief Minister Adityanath in UP, dismissed Akhilesh Yadav's counter-claim that "those criticising red caps might need one themselves", saying unlike the Samajwadi Party, “BJP wears the cap of respect, people’s faith, and one that works for betterment of people".

The senior BJP leader said, "We do not deceive people, we stand for their respect and aim to lead them towards 'Viksit Bharat' to build a strong nation, unlike the Samajwadi Party which lies and misleads the people."

Recently, Chief Minister Adityanath called Samajwadi Party's signature red caps a symbol of ‘Kaale Karname’ (black deeds).

“Everyone is familiar with the misdeeds of the Samajwadi Party. If you turn the pages, Samajwadi Party's history is full of black deeds. The party's cap is ‘laal’ (red) but its deeds are black. They are repeating their history,” CM Adityanath said while addressing a job fair in Kanpur on Thursday.

Hitting back at the Chief Minister's jibe, Akhilesh Yadav said on Friday, “Those who are criticising red caps might need one themselves.”

In a post on X without naming the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav said that the people whose lives were "devoid of affection, harmony and compassion", often thought that red colour was bad.

Meanwhile, Sharma also criticised Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal's recent remarks on the R.G. Kar rape-murder case.

On behalf of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Sibal purportedly issued a resolution that described the R.G. Kar incident as 'symptomatic malaise', and suggested that such incidents are commonplace.

"Kapil Sibal is in the last stage of politics and the way he stands for rapists shows to what extent he can go for pleasing his political masters. He is showing his allegiance to the Congress and the Samajwadi Party. The way he is favouring the rapists, he must be getting support from both the parties," Sharma claimed.

Notably, Sibal is representing the West Bengal government in the Supreme Court which took up the R.G. Kar case suo-motu.