What Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said during an election rally in West Bengal on April 20 set social media on fire. He wrongly attributed the iconic slogan “Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azaadi dunga” to Swami Vivekananda instead of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
This slogan was uttered by Netaji in 1944 to motivate the Indian National Army during the freedom struggle. It is one of the most recognized lines associated with Bose.
At the rally, Adityanath praised Netaji. He spoke about his decision to give up a confirmed position in the Indian Civil Service and join the freedom movement. CM Yogi also mentioned that Bose studied at Cambridge University and led the Azad Hind Fauj.
“Netaji decided to bring a revolution rather than establish himself in politics,” the UP CM said as he single-handedly decorated Bose’s statue in Lucknow.
In his comments before the Bengal assembly, Yogi Adityanath rightly attributed the same slogan to Netaji. During the Parakram Diwas celebrations in January 2023 and January 2026, he publicly credited Bose for the line while acknowledging Bose’s contribution to India’s independence.
Meanwhile, social media users, especially those from Bengal, took to Twitter (now X) to post their reactions. Many of them resorted to sarcasm in response to the faux pas.
Reaction on social networks
“God! Yogi quotes Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s “Give me blood and I will give you freedom” as a Swami Vivekananda quote. Is BJP deliberately making such mistakes to insult Bengalis? Or are they so illiterate, uninformed about the history of Bengal?” one of them asked.
“Wow, a landmark history lesson from UP CM Yogi Adityanath… when you are busy lecturing the entire nation on cultural pride and ‘proper’ history, why let facts get in the way of a good rally? Netaji must be thrilled with the remix,” another user commented.
Another user commented: “When BJP leaders like Yogi Adityanath fail to get even basic history right and still push divisive rhetoric, it reflects a worrying level of ignorance at the top – further underestimation of the Bengali legacy.”
“What happened to you? Yogi should remain stress free. What is important about the post of Chief Minister? It comes as salary in the accounts of private employees of Noida and will be used up even sooner!” came another sarcastic comment.
“The fate of all us Indians is so unfortunate that the Chief Minister of India’s largest state of Uttar Pradesh is so ill-informed,” one user wrote.
One user wrote: “Yogi Adityanath continues to twist history while peddling tired Hindu-Muslim rhetoric. Another example of BJP undermining Bengal and ignoring Bengali icons.”
West Bengal Election 2026 will be held in two phases, one on 23rd April and second on 29th April. Mamata Banerjee’s fate will be decided on May 4.
