Samajwadi Party (SP) president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Friday took a dig at the speculated rift in the BJP in the state, saying he has heard that Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is a "pawn".

He was speaking to reporters after unveiling a 'Samvidhan-Manstambh' at the SP headquarters here, where he also targeted the Yogi Adityanath government over the issue of corruption.

"The government used to claim that there is a zero tolerance policy especially on corruption and law and order. But now their leaders themselves are saying we have not seen such corruption in our political life," said Yadav.

Recently, a former state minister had made such remarks about corruption, although he backtracked from his statement later.

"Corruption is being exposed because some people have become pawns," Yadav said, hinting at the speculated rift within the BJP, even though he did not take any name. He then went on to add, "I heard that 'Maurya ji mohre hain' (Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is a pawn), a passwords to Delhi's Wi-Fi." Maurya hit back at Yadav for his comments, calling him a "Congress' pawn".

"Samajwadi Party leader Shree Akhilesh Yadav ji, who has become a pawn of the Congress, should focus on saving the SP from extinction rather than harbouring misconceptions about the BJP, targeting the backward sections and insulting them. The BJP will repeat the 2017 (state assembly poll performance) in 2027. The lotus (the BJP's poll symbol) has bloomed and will continue to bloom," he posted on X.

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