LUCKNOW, Aug. 11 -- The Samajwadi Party and democracy are two banks of a river, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said in the state assembly on the opening day of the Monsoon session on Monday.

Replying to the issue of alleged misbehaviour with the leader of opposition Mata Prasad Prasad in Gorakhpur, the chief minister criticised the Samajwadi Party for doing politics of obstruction. He accused the SP of hiding behind the "facade" of democracy while subjecting traders to atrocities and a 'goonda tax' during its rule.

Asserting that no development took place during the Samajwadi Party rule, he said, "During the SP regime, encephalitis claimed the lives of 700-1500 children every year, including hundreds in Mata Prasad Pandey's constituency...