To PM’s Lal Topi remark, Akhilesh Yadav has this response

New Delhi, Dec 08: In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's red cap comment, Samajwadi Party leader, Akhilesh Yadav said that the colour red symbolises revolution, change and emotions.

Uttar Pradesh goes to elections next year. Both the BJP which is the ruling party and the Samajwadi Party the principal opposition have begun their campaign. Yadav has been travelling the state to campaign for his party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the other hand has made two trips to the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday equated the red caps worn by Samajwadi Party workers with red beacons that suggest a hunger for power, sounding a red alert against them in the state which chooses its next government early next year.

PM Modi's attack on the opposition party came at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's home turf Gorakhpur, where he inaugurated a mega fertiliser plant and an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), projects worth nearly Rs 10,000 crore.

At the rally after the inauguration event, the PM also recalled fertiliser shortages in the past and slammed the previous state governments over delays in payment to farmers by sugar mills.

"Today, the entire UP knows very well that those wearing the red caps are concerned about the red beacon ('laal batti') and not bothered about your pain and sorrows," he said, apparently referring to the beacon atop cars carrying VIPs.

"The red-cap people want power to commit scams, fill their coffers, indulge in illegal grabbing (of resources) and give complete freedom to the mafia," he said.

"The red-cap people want to form the government to show favour to terrorists and to free them from jail. Hence, you should remember that those wearing red caps are a red alert for UP, in other words alarm bells."

Reacting to Modi's jibe, SP president Akhilesh Yadav said the red cap is a red alert for the BJP as it will oust the party from power.

In a tweet, he also listed price rise, unemployment and the Lakhimpur Kheri violence involving farmers among the other red alerts for the ruling party.

The PM's rally in eastern Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday took place on a day when the SP and the Rashtriya Lok Dal addressed their first joint meeting in western UP's Meerut.