Akhilesh, Keshav Maurya in verbal spat in UP Assembly

Uproarious scenes were witnessed in the UP Assembly on Wednesday when Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya had a hot exchange of words.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had to intervene and avert the situation even as members from the ruling BJP and the opposition SP continued to create noisy scenes.

Trouble began when Maurya, while participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor's address, took the name of Sefai, which is the native village of the Yadav clan, saying: "Did your father give you the money that you spent in Sefai?"

Akhilesh Yadav immediately intervened in the debate and retorted, "Does your father give you the money that you spend on giving free ration?"

At this, Yogi Adityanath stood up and asked both leaders to sit down. He told Akhilesh Yadav that the entire house had listened to his hour-long speech with rapt attention and he should also listen to others instead of making a running commentary.

"Every government does development and there is nothing wrong in talking about it. You are a senior leader and should learn to listen and use language which is not disrespectful," he said.