In a big endorsement to the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi dispute, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said that the Muslim side must step forward to say there has been a “historical mistake” and help find a solution to the issue.
Yogi also scoffed at the opposition bloc INDIA, saying that the act of renaming won’t erase the past deeds of these leaders.
Here are the highlights from Yogi Adityanath’s interview …
On Gyanvapi row
On the ongoing legal dispute over the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said there has been a “historical” mistake and the Muslim side must step forward to find a solution to the problem.
“If we call it a mosque, there will be a dispute. We should just call it Gyanvapi. I feel whoever has been blessed with sight by God, that person should see. What is a trishul (trident) doing inside a mosque? We did not put it there. There is security inside, there are Central forces are There is a jyotirlinga, dev pratimas (idols),” he said.
“The walls are screaming and saying something. I feel there should be a proposal from the Muslim society that there has been a historical mistake and we need a solution,” the chief minister told ANI.
Adityanath, who is also the head priest of Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur, said that physical, scriptural and other archaeological evidence inside the mosque should not be overlooked.
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UP CM Adityanath on Gyanvapi issue: ‘If we call it a mosque, then there will be a dispute’
On crackdown on mafia
Defending his image as “bulldozer baba”, Adityanath said that his government is strictly against mafia who grab land and pose hindrance in infrastructure works.
“Earlier, in UP, the mafia used to grab land and destroy everything even before the money was allotted and infrastructure work would begin. For instance, if a land is allotted for a highway from Ayodhya via Barabanki, the mafia would refuse the proposal as it wasn’t convenient to them. They would grab the land and cause hindrance in the work. Those who were in the government then didn’t have the guts to stop this,” Yogi said.
He further asked why he shouldn’t stop such land-grabbers with the use of bulldozers.
” … Should I do ‘aarti’ of those who have illegally grabbed government property? The people of UP want action against criminals and mafia …,” the chief minister said when asked why the state government has bulldozed the houses of mafia.
The chief minister also rubbished allegations that the bulldozer action is targeted against a particular community in the state.
CM Adityanath on being called ‘bulldozer baba’: No innocent targeted but mafia won’t be spared in UP
On opposition’s ‘INDIA’
He also took a dig at the opposition bloc INDIA, saying that we should not refer to them as “India”.
“This is a dot dot dot dot group … their past deeds will not be forgotten just because they have changed their identity,” he said.
“People are aware of their past deeds, be it those of the erstwhile UPA government, the Congress, SP, TMC or even AAP. They are trying to fool the country by changing their attire. But the people of India are mature enough to see this,” he said.
He also poked fun at the possibility of SP and Congress joining hands again, saying that in Uttar Pradesh, the opposition has tried all permuations and combinations but have failed to stop BJP.
“In 2024, both UP and India will reject those who are misleading the people and working to divide the country on the basis of religion,” he asserted.
On UCC
Yogi strongly advocated for the Uniform Civil Code in India, adding that a lot of propaganda is being spread against the proposal.
“Be it marriage or inheritence, there should be a common law across the country. The theory of ‘one nation, one law’ must be implemented in India,” he said.
He said that it’s disappointing that while minority groups around the world are not seeking special rights and want to be integrated into the society, some in India are seeking special treatment due to their minority status.
His remarks come amid buzz that the Centre may push for a uniform civil code in India after PM Modi made a strong pitch for the same a few weeks ago.
On Vande Mataram controversy
Yogi also reacted strongly to SP MLA Abu Azmi’s controversial remarks about Vande Mataram in the Maharashtra assembly. Azmi had said chanting of ‘Vande Mataram’ is against his religion.
The UP chief minister said that the nation runs on Constitution and not on one’s religion or personal beliefs.
“The country runs on Constitution, not on religion. I am a devotee god, but I don’t believe in superstitions. Your religion is restricted to your house or mosque, but you cannot impose it on others. You can’t demonstrate it on the streets or impose it on anyone,” he said.
Yogi said that “nation comes first” and if anyone wants to live in India, they must put the country before their religion.
On poll violence in West Bengal
Yogi Adityanath also took a dig at the Mamata Banerjee-ruled West Bengal as he drew parallels over how elections have been conducted in both the states.
The chief minister said that while West Bengal has witnessed widespread violence during the recent panchayat polls, there has not been a single such incident in Uttar Pradesh in the last six years.
He also took a dig at his detractors who say that Yogi is the chief minister only for Hindus due to his saffron clothes.
“I have been the chief minister of UP for over 6 years and there has not been a single riot in the state. Typically, during riots, both Hindus and Muslims suffer equally. The businesses of both sides get affected. During riots, the perception of UP was affected, not that of just Hindus. There has not been a single riot in UP in six years nor have we imposed curfew even once. All festivals have been celebrated peacefully,” he said.
He then drew a comparison with the TMC-ruled West Bengal, wondering why such people don’t raise questions when incidents of violence happen elsewhere.
“People who talk big must see how local body polls and assembly elections were held in UP and in states like West Bengal. Do these people want India to become like West Bengal, where we saw widespread violence against the opposition workers. We are not hypocrites, everybody has the right to contest elections. It’s their democratic right. However, some people want to take control of all institutions to come to power. We saw this in Bengal where opposition workers killed,” he said in a scathing dig at the TMC government.
(With inputs from ANI)
Watch ‘They want to make the country West Bengal’, UP CM Adityanath hits out at TMC govt over violence in Panchayat polls
