Amit Shah
BJP president Amit Shah.Twitter/Amit Shah

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah used a new acronym on Wednesday (Feb 22) for the opposition parties at a rally in Chauri Chaura, Uttar Pradesh, which is least likely to go down well with them. He said the people of Uttar Pradesh should get rid of 'Kasab'.

Also read: Akhilesh Yadav mocks PM Modi, asks Amitabh Bachchan to 'stop advertising for Gujarat's donkeys'

However, Shah clarified and asked the people not to misunderstand him. He said that 'Kasab' is an acronym for Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.

The use of the particular name Kasab is, however, suspect. Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani national and member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group, was convicted and hanged in 2012 for a large-scale attack in Mumbai in November 2008. Over 160 people, including several foreigners, were killed in the strike.

"Jab tak kasab ko khatam nahin karoge, UP ko bhala nahin hoga," [Till you finish off Kasab, nothing good will happen to Uttar Pradesh] he said. The comment came in the wake of a Samajwadi Party leader likening Shah to a terrorist.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier used an acronym "SCAM" during a rally in Uttar Pradesh. He said that SCAM meant Samajwadi Party, Congress, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. 

Recently, PM Modi also said in a rally: "There should be no discrimination. If there is land given for kabristan (graveyards), there must be provisions for shamshaanghat (crematoriums). Electricity must be provided on Ramzan and Diwali. If there is power for Holi, it must be available for Eid."

However, the All India Power Engineers Association clarified that there was no discrimination as 13,500 MW electricity was generated on Eid in 2016 and 15,400 MW was generated per day during the four days of Diwali. 

On being asked to comment on PM Modi's statement, BJP's star campaigner Yogi Adityanath responded saying that facts don't matter; only public opinion does. 

Also Read