Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday condemned alleged derogatory comments made on social media against Akhilesh Yadav‘s daughter and said such remarks against any daughter were unacceptable. He added that police action should be taken in such cases and urged the Samajwadi Party chief to ensure that his party workers also exercise restraint in their language.Speaking at a public event in Azamgarh, where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 39 development projects worth more than Rs 955 crore, Adityanath said he had directed the police to act as soon as the matter came to his notice.“I was seeing recently that some people were making comments on social media against the daughter of Akhilesh Yadav ji. As soon as it came to my notice, I immediately told the police to register an FIR against it,” he said.Calling for dignity in public discourse, the chief minister said women should not be targeted online or offline. “Beti, beti hoti hai (A daughter is a daughter). We have grown up with the values that the daughter in a village is everyone’s daughter and the sister in a village is everyone’s sister. We have never made any distinction,” he said.While lending support to the daughter, Yogi, however, also took a swipe at Akhilesh, saying political leaders should ensure their own supporters maintain civility while criticising others. “Akhilesh ji, you give advice to others, but also advise your followers and workers to keep their language restrained.”The chief minister said there was a growing need to reflect on the language being used against women, senior citizens, deceased persons and political leaders in public discourse and on social media. “You also need to teach your people. It would be better if you make them understand, and if they cannot understand, hand them over to us, we will make them understand properly,” he said.The remarks come amid a controversy over alleged online trolling and objectionable comments directed at Aditi Yadav, which prompted complaints from the Samajwadi Party and its affiliated organisations. Police in several districts, including Kanpur, have registered cases and initiated action in connection with the matter.

