Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday raised objections to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s invocation of mosque-temple dispute in Mathura and Kashi, saying he is bound by the constitution and should refrain from making such remarks.

Speaking in the UP legislative assembly on Wednesday, Adityanath said that in the ‘Mahabharata’, the Sanskrit epic, Lord Krishna asked for five villages, but today the Hindu society is only asking for the three centres of their faith.

With Ram temple already built in Ayodhya after years of legal battle following the demolition of Babri Masjid, the chief minister said that the Krishna Janmabhoomi site in Mathura and the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex in Varanasi are the two other disputed lands that Hindus have been claiming.

Ayodhya is revered as the birthplace of Lord Rama, Mathura as the birthplace of Lord Krishna, and Kashi (Varanasi) as the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati.

Quoting from Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s ‘Rashmirathi’, Yogi Aditynath said, “At that time, Krishna had gone to the Kauravas and said, then give us just five villages, keep all the land you have. We will happily eat there.”

“Krishna had asked for five villages that time. Krishna had gone for an agreement. He asked for justice, even if it was half. But here, the society and its faith, for hundreds of years, was talking about three, just three,” Yogi Adityanath said, referring to the spots at Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi.

When asked for his reaction on Adityanath’s statement in assembly, Akhilesh Yadav said,”The CM is bounded with the Constitution. He should not make any such statement which is not as per the oath he took as the CM.”

Taking a swipe at the ‘Mahabharata’ analogy drawn by CM Yogi, Yadav remarked, “It is not yet clear who are the Kauravas and who are the Pandavas. Kauravas were more in number. BJP says it is the largest party in the world. We read in Mahabharata that those who had the biggest army were Kauravas. The victory would be of those who have the God on their side.”

Yadav reiterated the significance of constitutional rights and criticised alleged attempts by the government to undermine them.

“All of us are bound by the Constitution… The government does trickery… Can we snatch anyone’s rights?” he questioned.

Yadav expressed hope that the judiciary would uphold justice and protect citizens’ rights in the face of any governmental overreach.

“The Constitution gives us the right to present ourselves. I hope that the court will do justice in the coming times,” he said.