Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh YadavReuters

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan while addressing an election rally in Rae Bareilly district on Monday.

Akhilesh lashed out at PM Modi's radio show Mann Ki Baat that is aired every Sunday at 11 am and said: "It's high time PM stops doing Mann Ki Baat and focuses on important things." He also added that since the Prime Minister "respects Ganga a lot, I would like to ask him to swear and say if Varanasi receives 24 hours of electricity or not."

Taking a jibe at Bachchan, whose wife and veteran actress Jaya Bachchan is an MP from Akhilesh's Samajwadi Party, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said: "I would request Amitabh ji to stop advertising for donkeys of Gujarat." Bachchan has been the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism since a long time now.

Akhilesh's jibe at Bachchan came over a recent Gujarat Tourism advertisement that features the veteran Bollywood actor and several donkeys. The UP CM made fun of the advertisement via poetry during the rally at Rae Bareilly.

Bachchan and his wife also happen to be close friends with Akhilesh's father Mulayam Singh Yadav.