You don't have guts to show Yogi Adityanath's pic with bad news: Akhilesh lashes out at reporters

A day after losing his cool at a press meet, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav again gave vent to his ire, daring the media to run crime related news from the state with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's photograph as he claimed was done during his tenure.

He also alleged that the media hype over the dispute in his family led to the party's defeat in the Assembly polls.

"In my regime if any incident happened, it was shown with my photograph. Do you (mediapersons) now have courage to show CM's (Yogi Adityanath) photo with the news. There was riot in Saharanpur, murders in Allahabad, a lawyer was killed in Pratapgarh. Were these news shown with the CM's photograph," he posed at a news conference here.

Akhilesh had yesterday lost his cool with mediapersons for asking questions on his uncle Shivpal Yadav's reported statement on giving party chief post to his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.

However, replying to the same question today, he said, "You (media) read the Constitution of our party and Election Commission (order), then you ask the question." Giving clarification on the incident, Akhilesh said, "The question they (journalist) had asked was not good. He did not have any knowledge. I was told by a TV channel reporter that our family dispute found a lot of space in media due to which the party lost".

"Have you all got only questions relating to my household (matters)? I don't like the same question to be asked everytime. In whose family there is no dispute?" he asked while accepting that it was one of the reasons for party's defeat in the assembly polls.

Yesterday when a television reporter wearing a saffron shirt asked about Shivpal's statement, an infuriated Akhilesh had said, "He (the reporter) is new here. His colour is also saffron.... I want to tell him and other journalists to fix any day in May, and I will answer all questions.

"But after that you should not ask any question about my family.... Let us do politics. If the country is ruined, you (the reporter) will also not be there. The country is being ruined because of people like you," he had said.