"those who have black hearts wear black caps," Akhilesh Yadav said.
After Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took a dig at opposition parties over the colourful caps their MLAs wear in the Assembly, it was Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav's turn Friday to hit back.
"It seems the CM had eaten some red chillies in his childhood, that's why he is scared of the Samajwadi red cap," Mr Yadav said.
"Red is the colour of emotions. Our grief and happiness are reflected on our faces by this colour. It shows our blood," he said.
Indirectly, he mocked the RSS for the colour of the caps worn by its volunteers. "We can also say that those who have black hearts wear black caps," he said.
Referring to the chief minister's remarks made in the state legislature earlier, Mr Yadav further said, "Thok denge" (will shoot you) and ''patak ke marenge'' (will beat u) cannot be spoken in the House, which is a temple of democracy."
Taking a dig at the Opposition in the Assembly on Wednesday, Mr Adityanath had said the House should not be taken lightly as a "drama company" with some members sporting caps in red, some blue, some yellow or even green.
"It would have looked nice if you had used a turban or a ''safa''," he said smilingly, reaching out to Leader of the Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary sitting on the opposite side with his Samajwadi Party's bright red cap on.
In an obvious reference to the SP members who wear red caps, Mr Adityanath recalled that he had once been to village school when a child called a politician sporting a cap as "goonda" (hooligan).
"There, an "anna prashan" (a ceremony where a child takes cereals for the first time) function was also organised. At that function, some people belonging to a certain political party rushed in to lodge protest. They were donning caps. A toddler, who was there with his mother for the ceremony, was surprised to see them and screamed, "Mummy, mummy ... look goonda, goonda," the Chief Minister said.