Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s comments about migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar getting employment at the cost of local population has not gone down well with prospective ally and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

"This is wrong. In Maharashtra, you hear questions like why have north Indians come here. Why are north Indians doing business here? The same questions come from Delhi. Now this is coming from Madhya Pradesh. If north Indians get together and decide then who will come to the center," said Akhilesh Yadav in response to Kamal Nath’s comment.

On Monday, Nath told reporters after taking office that his government will give incentives to industries that give 70 per cent of their jobs to those from his state and added that people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh get employment in Madhya Pradesh at the cost of the local population.

Jumping into the debate, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath too lashed out at the Congress for its “divisive statements” and urged Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to apologise for it.

Former Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, an MP from Bihar, said people from his state and Uttar Pradesh have been working in different parts of the country and have played a role in the development of these states.