Harsh Gujral’s joke about a former criminal turned banana seller drew laughter from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The Samajwadi Party’s media cell responded with a video citing crime figures and targeting the BJP government’s law-and-order record.
The party invoked women’s helplines launched under Akhilesh Yadav and promised security and respect if elected in 2027.
Samajwadi Party’s media cell has taken a swipe at stand-up comedian Harsh Gujral over his joke about crime in Uttar Pradesh, made in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at an event in Lucknow on October 27.
Gujral, who hails from Kanpur, received the Creator of the Year award at the event. A video shared by the comedian on Instagram showed him standing beside Adityanath on stage and recounting an anecdote about a former criminal who had apparently turned over a new leaf and started selling bananas.
In the joke, Gujral recalled visiting Lucknow for a comedy show and asking a banana seller whether crime still existed in Uttar Pradesh. The vendor allegedly replied that crime had been wiped out, explaining that he knew this because he had once been a criminal himself but was now selling bananas.
The punchline prompted laughter from Adityanath and the audience.
On Thursday, the Samajwadi Party’s media cell responded with a reel on Instagram, challenging the claim that crime had been eliminated in the state. It contrasted the light-hearted exchange at the event with figures it attributed to the National Crime Records Bureau’s 2024 data.
“Come on, the comedy is over. Now listen to the tragedy,” the media cell said in the video, before citing figures on reported crime, crimes against women, dowry deaths and atrocities against Dalits.
SP Cites Crime Figures, Targets BJP
According to the media cell, Uttar Pradesh recorded around 4.3 lakh cases a year, or approximately 1,200 a day. It also cited 66,000 cases of crimes against women and 2,038 dowry deaths, alleging that the state accounted for a significant share of such cases nationally.
The reel further claimed that 14,600 cases of cruelty against Dalits were recorded in 2024 and referred to nine murders a day. These figures and characterisations were presented by the Samajwadi Party as it questioned the state government’s law-and-order claims.
The party also targeted the BJP over its elected representatives, alleging that 111 BJP MLAs faced cases and 90 had cases involving serious offences. It referred to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is serving a life sentence in the Unnao rape case.
“The criminal is not selling bananas, Yogi ji. They are sitting in the legislature with a lotus ticket,” the media cell said. The figures cited by the Samajwadi Party’s media cell have not been independently verified by Outlook India.
SP Invokes Akhilesh Yadav Govt’s Initiatives
The party also invoked initiatives launched during the government of its president, Akhilesh Yadav, including the 1090 Women Powerline in 2012 and Dial 100 in 2016. It said the services were intended to help women report complaints and enable police to respond to emergencies.
The reel ended with the Samajwadi Party promising security and respect for Uttar Pradesh residents under an Akhilesh Yadav government in 2027.
Gujral had described the interaction with Adityanath as a light-hearted moment after receiving the award. The Samajwadi Party’s response turned the exchange into a political attack on the BJP government’s claims about law and order in Uttar Pradesh.
