Lucknow, Mar 10 (TOI): Attacking chief minister Yogi Adityanath for his comment that he was a Hindu and won’t celebrate Eid, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said such statements from the BJP leaders come only during elections. He, however, claimed that after swearing by the Constitution of India while assuming office, a chief minister should stay away from such comments.

“Such statements from the BJP leaders come only during elections. Once the bypolls are over, their language will change,” he said adding that a similar controversy had erupted just before the bypolls in Rajasthan. “The entire country witnessed protests and threats over screening of a film … once the elections were over, the very people who were spearheading the protests said they had not watched the film before and that there was nothing objectionable in it,” the SP chief said in response to a media query at a press conference in the city.

The former CM said Yogi had assumed office after taking oath to abide by the Constitution and such statements do not gel with the stature of a sitting chief minister. “As chief minister, people should not make such statements,” he said. Taking a dig at Yogi’s past comments on Taj Mahal, he said after all that Yogi said about it, he not only went to launch his Swachch Bharat campaign at the monument of love but also directed officials to complete the work for Mughal Museum at the earliest.