Akhilesh Yadav after PM Modi's 'revari' remark: 'Is the word unparliamentary?'

Akhilesh Yadav, former UP chief minister, commented on PM Modi's remark on freebie culture.

Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday yet again took a jibe at the central government hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned against the culture of doling out freebies by political parties. The prime minister was speaking at an event after inaugurating the 296-km Bundelkhand Expressway in Uttar Pradesh as he said that the freebie culture could hamper the country’s development.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav earlier said the hurriedness in the inauguration of the half-complete Bundelkhand Expressway shows that its design is ‘chaltaau’ (make-do). (File photo) (HT_PRINT)

He compared the freebies to "revari", a popular-yet-cheap sweet in north India. “The ‘revari culture’ is very dangerous for the development of the country,” PM Modi said, calling upon youngsters to not fall for this culture. "Those behind this ‘revadi culture’ do not believe in building expressways, airports and defence corridors. Together we have to defeat this thinking and remove this culture from politics,” he added.

In response to the remark, Akhilesh Yadav joined the opposition leaders who reacted. “If those in power - running the ‘thank-you’ campaign after ‘distribution of revaris - could focus on giving jobs to youth, they could avoid the culture of blaming. Is the word ‘revari’ unparliamentary?” the former UP chief minister tweeted in Hindi.

He was referring to the row over “‘unparliamentary words” ahead of the monsoon session. The controversy broke out over a document titled “Unparliamentary Expressions” issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat. It was a compilation of “references to words and expressions” expunged in Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and state legislatures last year.

However, amid opposition remarks, Lok Sabha speaker Om Prakash Birla on Thursday said: “No word or phrase has been banned in Parliament. Members of Parliament have full freedom to express themselves in the floor of the House. The process of identifying unparliamentary words, based on words expunged in Parliament or assemblies, had started since 1954.”

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal too had reacted sharply on Saturday to the ‘revari’ remark. “Free education, healthcare not freebies, waiving loans of friends is "free ki revadi",” he said.

Arvind Kejriwal's AAP has been promising free electricity in many poll-bound states. Its win in Delhi in previous assembly elections has been linked to the poll promise.