Akhilesh Yadav meets Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, vows to put an end to ‘fake saints’

Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday (March 12, 2026) met Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the ‘Shankaracharya’ of Jyotirmath in Uttarakhand, and sought his blessings, saying it would bring an end to “fake saints”.

After meeting the seer, Mr. Yadav said he had come to seek the saint’s blessings and wisdom. “Today I received blessings from Pujya Shankaracharya ji. There is nothing better than getting the blessings of revered saints before starting any auspicious work and moving forward. With the blessings of Pujya Shankaracharya ji, fake saints will come to an end.”

“Every person has a desire to do good. For me, there is a battle between right and wrong. Today, we should all have the Sudarshan Chakra to fight so that we can remove the sin that has spread,” he said, indirectly hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

The meeting in Lucknow comes amid Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, announcing an 81-day campaign across Uttar Pradesh, beginning May 3, demanding that the cow be recognised as ‘Rashtra Mata’ (national mother). He also seeks to get cow slaughter banned across the country.

Mr. Yadav, highlighted steps taken by the previous SP government for the service of cows. “During the Samajwadi government, we had taken many decisions regarding the service of cows. We had set up U.P.’s first cow milk plant in Kannauj. This government closed the cow milk plant in Kannauj. We will do whatever we can to serve the cow,” he said.

The SP chief alleged that it seems that there is no government in Uttar Pradesh as law and order situation has totally collapsed. “Incidents are happening continuously. There is pressure on the media not to reveal the true events. The BJP is a party that destroys democracy.”

On the LPG crisis in India amid the West Asia conflict, Mr. Yadav said “the entire responsibility for the shortage of LPG lies with the BJP government at the Centre and the State”.

“We are witnessing how the Central government is responsible for the cooking gas crisis in the state and the country. Due to the wrong decision of the Government of India, people are forced to cook on wood. There is a scramble for electric-powered goods in the market. Both governments are running away from their responsibility. That is why this crisis has arisen,” he alleged.

The party also accused the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the BJP government of disrespecting symbols of culture, tradition, heritage and civilisational values.

“Our leader (Akhilesh Yadav) vowed to remove the BJP government whose head Yogi Adityanath disrespects symbols of culture, Indian tradition, heritage and civilizational values. The meeting was a courtesy visit to meet the respect saint who was humiliated by the Yogi government. We (the SP) support the saint in his struggle,” said Sunil Singh Yadav ‘Sajan’, the party spokesperson.