Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday hit back at Priyanka Gandhi after her sharp criticism of the government’s response to against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests.

In a Hindi tweet under hashtag #BhagwameinLokKalyan (public welfare in saffron), Yogi Adityanath issued another warning of punishment.

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“Anyone interrupting a sanyasi’s continuous efforts for public welfare will be punished. Those who inherited politics and practice politics of appeasement would hardly understand the concept of service,” a tweet in Hindi read.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had on Monday said the state government and police have taken several steps that are illegal and have led to anarchy.

Priyanka had also written a letter to the Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel demanding a full judicial inquiry into the unlawful conduct of UP Police during the anti-CAA and NRC protests.

She alleged the UP Police of arresting and naming innocent people, who had nothing to do with the protests.

The Congress general secretary said that it was Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “badla” remark that had made the police behave in an illegal manner.

“The chief minister should know that saffron is a religion that is marked by love compassion and peace. This is the land of Krishna and Ram who were the epitome of compassion and love,” she said while pointing out that Yogi Adityanath had donned saffron.

She said that “There is no place for revenge, violence or anger in the country’s soul”.

Earlier this month amid massive protests, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said that his government will take revenge against those involved in the violence and will auction their properties to compensate for the losses.

UP Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma on Monday was the first to mount a scathing attack on Priyanka Gandhi, accusing her of supporting rioters.

Responding to Gandhi’s attack on the state government, he said that she had attempted to malign saffron.

He said the Congress leader had violated rules to garner publicity. “Congress has been indulging in such unlawful activities since some time. Prohibitory orders were in force and she still created a drama. It is also wrong to say that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had used the word ‘badla’ (revenge) in his statement,” he said.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has raised the political temperature in UP by taking the Bharatiya Janata Party government head on over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).