Lucknow, July 21 : Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday sought to caution Congress president Rahul Gandhi against his controversial hug-diplomacy wherein he had embraced Prime Minister Narendra Modi after speaking on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

In a tweet from his official Twitter account, the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief referred to a famous Urdu couplet penned by late poet Bashir Badr: Koi haath bhi na milayega, jo gale miloge tapaak se, ye naye mijaaz ka shahar hai, zara fasle se mila karo (If you promptly embrace someone, he will not even shake hands, this is a city of new ways, be careful and keep a distance while meeting someone).

The Congress and SP chiefs, despite a failed and unsuccessful electoral tie-up in the 2017 UP assembly elections have displayed camaraderie. The latest tweet is also seen in political circles as an advice from a prospective ally who disapproves of a sudden gesture by Gandhi to Modi.

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Hyderabad (PTI): During the last 11 months, the Congress government in Telangana has reversed an air of gloom and despair under the previous BRS regime and ended the "darkness", Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said on Saturday.

He was responding to a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that under Congress rule developmental trajectory and fiscal health is turning from bad to worse in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana.

“I am happy to clarify several misconceptions and factual errors in your statements about my state and our government," Reddy said in his post.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday in a series of posts said the Congress stands "badly exposed" in front of people for promising to them what the party knows it will never be able to deliver.

“Every promise made by us to people is a sacred commitment for us. In the last 11 months, we have reversed an air of gloom & despair under BRS, and ended the darkness. Like a morning sun, Telangana is now Rising,” Reddy said in the post addressed to Modi.

Within two days of taking charge, the Telangana government fulfilled its first and second promise - free bus travel for women across all government buses, and a healthcare and hospitalisation cover of 10 lakhs under Rajiv Aarogyasree, the CM pointed out.

Even before completion of first year of rule, the Congress government has implemented India's largest ever, state-level farmer loan waiver of Rs 18,000 crore covering over 22 lakh farmers, he said responding to PM’s comments that in Telangana, farmers are awaiting the (loan) waiver they were promised.

Women get free electricity, with no domestic power charge for their homes up to 200 units, Reddy noted.

The CM also claimed that his government has held the largest recruitment drive and is regularly holding exams of all levels and provided jobs to over 50,000 eligible youth, a record “unmatched by any BJP state government.”

The CM said the government is rejuvenating River Musi, which was allegedly neglected by the previous government and protecting lakes and other precious water bodies, encroached upon and destroyed wantonly with abandon in the last 10 years.