AURAIYA: Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday returned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's SCAM jibe, saying that 'A' and 'M in the acronym stand for BJP President Amit Shah and Modi.
Akhilesh addressed a rally here in Uttar Pradesh, hours after Modi attacked his political rivals saying SCAM stood of Samajwadi Party, Congress, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.
But the 43-year-old chief minister and Samajwadi leader said he has his own take for the acronym that meant: "Save the Country from Amit Shah and Modi."
"If we have to save the country we have to save it from the politicians whose names start with A and M," Akhilesh said to loud cheers of his supporters.
Congress also hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for dubbing his political rivals in Uttar Pradesh as "SCAM", saying it does not behove a PM to use such words and, instead, he should give an account of the work done by him.
"Instead of delivering or what the road map ahead is, we hear him (Modi) speak on abbreviations. He is extremely worried because he has realized the faults what demonetization has done across the country," Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan told reporters.
In his first rally in Uttar Pradesh after polls were announced, Narendra Modi alleged the corrupt he had "robbed" with note-ban have ganged up to bring him down and targeted the SP-Congress alliance, saying the two parties which abused each other till recently are now locked in an embrace to save themselves.
Modi asked the people in Uttar Pradesh to "rid the state of SCAM - S for Samajwadi (party), C for Congress, A for Akhilesh (Yadav) and M for Mayawati", saying they have to choose between development agenda of BJP and those who give shelter to criminals, indulge in vote bank politics and encourage land and mine mafias.