Yogi Adityanath Slams Opposition, Links Murshidabad Violence to Waqf Amendment Bill
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on April 13, came down heavily on the Opposition, alleging that violent incidents were being deliberately provoked in the wake of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill’s passage.
Reacting to reports of unrest in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, Adityanath claimed that three Hindus were forcibly dragged out of their homes and killed during the violence, which he linked to the ongoing protests against the new legislation.
He emphasized that the land in question would benefit Dalits, the underprivileged, and the poor the most and expressed surprise at the scale of illegal Waqf land encroachments in the country.
“These lands — lakhs of acres — were captured in the name of Waqf, without any proper documents or revenue records,” the chief minister said. “Now that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has been passed and action is underway, violence is being deliberately instigated.”
Meanwhile, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan confirmed that the central government was closely monitoring the law-and-order situation in Murshidabad. The state administration was advised to remain alert in sensitive regions and implement all necessary measures to restore peace.
Three people, including a father-son pair, lost their lives in the violence in the Muslim-majority district, allegedly tied to the ongoing opposition to the Waqf Bill.
Yogi Adityanath also criticized the Opposition for what he called its consistent silence on the persecution of Hindus in neighboring Bangladesh. He underlined the BJP’s commitment to protecting Hindus globally, highlighting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) as part of that promise.
“If any Sikh, Hindu, Jain, or Buddhist faces persecution in Pakistan or Bangladesh and seeks refuge in India, the CAA ensures they will be granted Indian citizenship,” he said. “But the Congress and Samajwadi Party tried to mislead the people by opposing this Act.”
The Chief Minister further accused these parties of denying the rights of Dalits and the oppressed for political gains.
In his address, Adityanath also referred to a book written three years ago by Rajya Sabha MP and former Uttar Pradesh DGP Brij Lal, which highlights the stories of two significant Dalit leaders — Babasaheb Ambedkar and Yogendra Nath Mandal. He noted that while Mandal had once supported the idea of Pakistan, he could not live there for more than a year, and even today, Dalits, especially Hindus in Bangladesh, continue to suffer the consequences.
He targeted Congress, the Samajwadi Party, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that none of them had ever raised their voices in support of these persecuted Dalits. “Only the Bharatiya Janata Party stood by them,” Adityanath asserted.
Accusing the Congress of dishonoring Babasaheb Ambedkar, Adityanath said the party not only denied Ambedkar an electoral victory during his lifetime but also prevented his last rites from being held in Delhi after his death and blocked the establishment of a memorial in his honor.
He also criticized the 1976 Constitutional amendment, stating it introduced a term against which Ambedkar had argued during his lifetime.
Adityanath, addressing a workshop held as part of the ‘Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Samman Samaroh, ‘ urged people to stay informed about historical facts. He accused certain political forces of misleading Dalits and the underprivileged for personal political gain.
“Unless the truth reaches the people, these opportunists will keep exploiting the poor and deprived while using chaos and misinformation as tools to climb the political ladder,” he said.
The Chief Minister also detailed a special outreach campaign underway to mark Dr. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, involving BJP workers, public representatives, and government officials participating in cleanliness drives around Ambedkar statues and parks named in his honor.
Highlighting the work done under the BJP government, Adityanath said that in the last 10 years, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, welfare schemes had reached Dalits, the poor, women, and farmers alike. He urged party members to consistently communicate these achievements at the grassroots level.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, also present at the event, praised Ambedkar’s enduring contribution to democracy. “Babasaheb gave the right to vote to the backward and deprived sections of society,” he said.
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