Patna: The ruling Grand Alliance in Bihar headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday mounted a heavy attack on the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) shortly after Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as the new chief minister of India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal United (JD-U) and the Congress party, which are coalition partners in the ruling alliance, hit out at the BJP for handing over the throne to someone accused of inciting communal violence and considered a “divisive” political figure.

Adityanath, the controversial mascot of the hardline Hindu nationalist party, has been infamous for making provocative statements about Pakistan and Islam, and raking the controversial issue of “Love Jihad”. He has also compared Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan with Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed and has been strongly advocating for constructing Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

“Yogi doesn’t deserve to be the chief minister as he has been involved in launching hate campaigns. His coronation as the UP CM is very unfortunate,” remarked Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav. Yadav who is the younger son of RJD president Lalu Prasad alleged the BJP was working on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) agenda to divide the nation.

The JD-U said the appointment of Yogi for this post had brought to fore the “communal face” of the BJP. “It is strange to see that the man who was constantly speaking against a particular community has been offered the top job,” JD-U’s Shyam Rajak said, adding the poor, backwards and the minority class voters who voted for the BJP felt cheated now. “Now, BJP government’s communal agenda comes first; digital India agenda later,” he added.

The Congress also came down heavily on the BJP for its move. “More than revealing its communal agenda, the BJP has played a cruel joke with the people of UP who handed out three-fourth majority to the party,” said state Congress president Ashok Chaudhary.

“It’s strange to see how the BJP handed over the throne to a man who is an accused in the Babri mosque demolition case and faces 20 serious criminal cases,” said Chaudhary, who is also the education minister in the Bihar government. He exhorted all the anti-BJP parties to come together and oppose the “communal agenda” of the BJP.