After CM Yogi Adityanath's office, police station, parks, dividers turn saffron in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: In its seven months in power the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government has virtually draped Uttar Pradesh in a saffron hue. From the Chief Minister's office to Lucknow's Qaiser Bagh police station to a fleet of 50 saffron-coloured buses being flagged off, the colour seems to have become a defining feature of the state.

In the latest to it, several parks and dividers have been given a coat of saffron paint in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar by Municipal Corporation on Saturday. 

Parks and dividers being painted saffron in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar by Municipal Corporation. pic.twitter.com/KfUEXeUjA1 — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 20, 2018

Saffron started making its presence felt soon after Adityanath took over the reins of the state on March 19 this year. Since then, the state government has already painted nearly 100 primary schools and a number of police stations in saffron. The furniture in CM's official residence and office got a saffron towel cover. Then came the hoardings displaying state government schemes and achievements in Yogi's favourite colour.

It virtually permeated everything -- from booklets and school bags to chairs and even buses. Even the boundary wall of the Haj House office was also given a bright shade of saffron colour for a 'brief period of time'. 

In October last year, the Lal Bahadur Shastri Bhawan, which houses the Chief Minister's office, was painted saffron. The facade of the state secretariat was given a saffron hue months after Adityanath took over the reins of the state. Besides, the education department had distributed saffron-coloured school bags in government primary schools, replacing the ones that featured former CM Akhilesh Yadav's picture.

The government then had also made it clear that electric poles used to give power connection to unauthorised colonies also would be painted saffron.

Official booklets that were distributed to mark 100 days and then six months of the Adityanath government had saffron covers and the information diary of the state government, which contains the contacts and designations of various officials, is also saffron.

Interestingly, after the bright saffron shade on the Haj office boundary wall attracted criticism from the Opposition and flak from Muslim bodies, it was given a cream coat by the estates department recently. The boundary wall originally was green and white. 

The Haj office colour prompted opposition Samajwadi Party to accuse the government of 'blatant saffronisation' after a series of steps were perceived by it as 'anti-minority'.