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Those who didn’t object to bombs were offended by devotees’ chants: Yogi
CM Yogi Adityanath launches ₹868-crore projects in Ghaziabad’s Muradnagar and Modinagar assembly constituencies
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress of opposing religious traditions while indulging in vote-bank politics.
He was addressing a public gathering after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of 90 development projects worth over ₹868 crore in Ghaziabad’s Muradnagar and Modinagar assembly constituencies.
He said political parties which had imposed restrictions on the Kanwar Yatra, Ram Navami processions, Janmashtami celebrations and Durga Puja pandals now speak about faith only for electoral gains.
Referring to the annual Kanwar Yatra, he said, “Those who had no objection to people throwing bombs at traders or manufacturing crude bombs were offended when Shiva devotees chanted ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and ‘bam-bam’.”
Displaying his saffron kurta before the audience, he said the SP “hated the saffron colour” and had consistently opposed expressions of Hindu faith.
Recalling the early days of his government in 2017, Yogi said officials had shown him an earlier government order which claimed that the Kanwar Yatra could trigger communal riots and therefore should be stopped. According to him, the order even proposed preventing devotees from playing bells, conches and other traditional instruments during the procession.
“I said this is a journey of Lord Shiva’s devotees, in which people from every section of society- Dalits, backward classes, the underprivileged and others- participate with devotion. We decided to provide security and facilities instead of imposing restrictions. I took responsibility for ensuring that there would be no riots because a true devotee never violates discipline,” he said.
Continuing his attack on the Opposition, Yogi alleged that the SP and Congress sought to exploit religious faith for vote-bank politics. He cited the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, the redevelopment of Vindhyavasini Dham, the upcoming Dudheshwar Nath Temple Corridor in Ghaziabad and the proposed Adi Yogi statue and corridor at Pura Mahadev as examples of his government’s commitment to preserving religious heritage.
He also contrasted present-day Ghaziabad with its condition a decade ago. He claimed that before 2017, the city was associated with gang wars, poor law and order and unclean surroundings despite being the gateway to Delhi.
“Ten years ago, films were made on the hooliganism of Ghaziabad. Today, the city is known for good governance, better civic infrastructure and improved cleanliness,” he said.
Highlighting infrastructure projects, he said the Delhi-Meerut Rapid Rail had been opposed by the previous SP government despite the proposal already existing before 2017. He said officials had informed him that the project would cost ₹32,000 crore, with equal contributions from the Centre and the state government, and his administration decided to support it.
“Today, the journey from Meerut to Delhi has come down from nearly three hours to about 40 minutes, while connectivity to Modinagar and Muradnagar has improved significantly,” he said.
Calling Ghaziabad a major growth engine of the National Capital Region (NCR), he said Uttar Pradesh’s policy of zero tolerance towards crime had strengthened law and order, creating an environment conducive to investment, employment and economic growth.
Referring to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s observation that only 15 paise out of every rupee spent by the government reached beneficiaries, Yogi alleged that Congress and SP governments had allowed the remaining 85 paise to be lost to corruption instead of using it for welfare schemes, infrastructure and public services.
