New Delhi: 

Setting the tone for assembly elections next year, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made a double-edged comment saying that prior to his government’s formation in the state, ration meant for the poor would be “digested” by those who utter ‘Abba Jaan‘ .

“Under PM Modi’s leadership, there is no place for appeasement politics… Before 2017 was everyone able to get ration? Only those who used to say ‘Abba Jaan‘ were digesting the ration,” Yogi Adityanath said at an event in the state’s Kushinagar.

‘Abba Jaan’ is a term used to address fathers by mostly Muslims.

The comment led to wide condemnation on Twitter as users accused the Chief Minister of making communal references, starting a campaign with the hashtag HamareAbbaJaan.

Retired Foreign Secretary Nirupama Menon Rao shared a photo of her father saying, “My father just as he joined the Army in 1941. He made me what I am. My #AbbaJaan.”

Mediacorp’s Chief commercial and digital officer Parminder Singh also shared a photo of his father.

Journalist Saba Naqvi posted a throwback picture with her father, noted journalist Saeed Naqvi, from their ancestral village in Uttar Pradesh.

Writer and chronicler Rana Safvi shared a photo of her father saying, “he taught us the value of truthfulness, honesty and above all humanity.”

British-American writer and journalist Aatish Taseer tweeted a picture of his father and mother.

National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah also criticised the chief minister’s remark with a tweet saying, “I’ve always maintained the BJP has no intention of fighting any election with an agenda other than blatant communalism & hatred with all the venom directed towards Muslims. Here is a CM seeking re-election claiming that Muslims ate up all the rations meant for Hindus.”

Last month, Yogi Adityanath had blamed the opposition for vaccine hesitancy in the state, saying some only took the jab after their ‘Abba Jaan‘ did.