E-Paper
Haryana poll campaign: Those who once opposed India now greeting with ‘Ram-Ram’, says Yogi
Yogi Adityanath claims critics of India now greet him warmly, attributing this change to the removal of Article 370, while criticizing Congress for past issues.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said those who once criticised India and challenged its sovereignty are now greeting with “Ram-Ram”.
Addressing voters during his election tour in Haryana, Adityanath recounted an experience from his recent campaign in Jammu and Kashmir. The Haryana assembly election is slated for October 5 with votes to be counted on October 8.
“At the airport, I heard someone saying ‘Ram-Ram.’ I didn’t initially see who it was, but the voice called out again, ‘Yogi sahab, Ram-Ram.’ When I looked, it was a Maulvi. I felt this is the impact of the removal of Article 370. Those who once cursed India and questioned its sovereignty are now greeting with ‘Ram-Ram’,” Adityanath said.
“Hum bante the toh katey thay (When we were divided, we were slaughtered). If we hadn’t been divided, the Ram temple would never have been demolished, no structure of slavery would have been built on Krishna’s birthplace, and the country would never have been enslaved. Those who opposed the Ram and Shri Krishna temples, if the BJP grows stronger, will one day be seen chanting ‘Hare Rama, Hare Krishna’ on the streets,” he added.
Adityanath conducted four public meetings in support of BJP candidates in Haryana.
He held rallies for BJP candidates of Faridabad NIT, Ballabhgarh, Prithla, Badkhal, Ateli, Radaur, Jagadhari, Yamunanagar, and Sadhora--the assembly constituencies in Faridabad, Mahendragarh, and Yamunanagar, said a press statement from his office.
Emphasising the historic significance of Ramlalla’s enthronement in his birthplace, Ayodhya, on January 22, 2024, Adityanath stated, “Hindus fought 76 significant battles for the Ram temple. Countless Hindus—saints, Nihangs, ascetics, common households, kings, princes, women, and youth—sacrificed their lives at the feet of Lord Ram. Under the rule of the Mughals and the British, Hindus were denied justice, and even after independence in 1947, the Congress government could have constructed the Ram temple, but instead chose to create a controversy.”
Continuing his criticism, as quoted in the statement, the chief minister declared that the Congress was the primary obstacle to the temple’s construction.
He highlighted that the issue, which had remained unresolved during the Congress’s tenure, was finally addressed in 2019 after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014 and the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.
Launching a fierce attack on the opposition, Adityanath asserted that the Congress is the root of the country’s problems, while the BJP is the solution.
“The Congress has burdened the nation with its issues. It has weakened the country by exploiting the tragedies of Partition, caste, region, and language. This has pushed the nation into a furnace of terrorism, extremism, Naxalism, and anarchy. Corruption and nepotism are also legacies of the Congress.”
Yogi said that over the past seven-and- a-half years, Uttar Pradesh has not experienced any riots, contrasting it with the past when disturbances were commonplace.
He cited the Muzaffarnagar, Bareilly and Aligarh riots, as well as the Jawaharbagh incident in Mathura, as reminders of the violence that plagued the state earlier.
“Since 2017, riots in U.P. have been buried. The rioters are either in jail or on their way to hell (Ram naam satya),” he remarked.
He further emphasized that Article 370 could not have been abolished while the Congress was in power, but the BJP successfully removed it, thereby ending terrorism and securing a better future for India.
He remarked that Haryana faced significant challenges due to Congress’s corruption and exploitation just a decade ago. He noted that various mafias—mining, forest, cow, animal, land, and organized crime—were closely linked to the Congress party, taking advantage of Haryana’s resources.
“In the past ten years, Haryana has embarked on a new journey of development. While the Congress government claimed that only Muslims had rights to the country’s resources, the BJP and Prime Minister Modi advocate for ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.’ The BJP is essential for security, national unity, and a developed India,” he stated.
He added that under the guidance of PM Modi and the leadership of Nayab Singh Saini, Haryana is progressing toward new avenues of development. He stressed the importance of maintaining the momentum of growth driven by the double-engine government.
He accused the Congress, INLD (Indian National Lok Dal) and the Aam Aadmi Party of opposing development. During the public meetings, notable attendees included Union minister Rao Indrajit Singh, MPs Krishan Pal Gurjar and Naveen Jindal, former Uttar Pradesh minister Suresh Rana, UP Legislative Council member Satya Pal Singh Saini and Himachal Pradesh MLA Sukh Ram Chaudhary, among others.
