Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday termed the BJP 'schizophrenic' and alleged that the party tries to co-opt icons like Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia but follows people who these leaders disagreed with. (Photo: File)

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav Saturday termed the BJP "schizophrenic" and alleged that the party tries to co-opt icons like Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia but follows people who these leaders disagreed with.

The remarks by the SP chief came in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's blog in which he dubbed the efforts of regional parties to form a grand alliance with the Congress as "reprehensible", saying socialist ideologue Ram Manohar Lohia would be "horrified" as most of these parties claim to be his followers.

Accusing the BJP of practising double standards, Yadav wrote on Twitter, "I wonder which principles are being spoken of. The BJP seems to be schizophrenic."

"On the one hand they try to co-opt Gandhi Ji, Bhagat Singh, Sardar Patel, Dr Ambedkar and Dr Lohia and on the other hand they follow people who these leaders opposed and disagreed with."