Lucknow: Those who ignored Hindutva for vote bank concerns now pose as Ram Bhakts: Yogi

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath accused the opposition parties of ignoring Hindutva for vote bank concerns and added that with 2022 UP polls around the corner, the opposition leaders were now pretending to be ‘Ram bhakts’.

“The Bahujan Samaj Party had banned celebration of Krishna Janmaashtami in police stations, Samajwadi Party had banned the Kanwar yatra and the Congress government had banned prayers at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Now, of course, all want to be seen as Ram Bhakts. This is the power of the people and of democracy that has forced all to tread this path,” he said while addressing a meeting of traders here on Sunday.

Adityanath said since coming to power in UP in 2017, his government re-started Janmaashtami celebrations in police stations, celebrated Krishna Janmaashtami in a grand manner, Holi in Barsana, Deepotsav in Ayodhya and Kanwar yatra was allowed with all its grandeur. “A grand Ram temple is coming up in Ayodhya now,” he said.

He said that for the BJP, the country came first. “In BJP meetings, we raise the chant of ‘Vande Mataram’. This can never happen in the meetings of Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party. No party had the courage to scrap Article 370 due to vote bank concerns. In our time, Article 370 got scrapped and now a grand temple is also coming up in Ayodhya,” Adityanath said.

“The Samajwadi Party calls us as a ‘bulldozer government.’ But our actions pain them the most as mafias enjoy that party’s patronage. I wish to make it clear that if mafia captures the properties of traders, then bull dozer will move for sure,” he added.

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