‘Roads are meant for walking’: CM Adityanath on namaz row

In an interview with PTI, when asked about his supporters seeing him as a future PM, he said, “Politics is not a full-time job for me. Ultimately, I am a yogi (monk) at heart.”

“There will be a time frame for this as well,” he said to a question on how long he sees himself in politics. “I am the CM of Uttar Pradesh, and the party has placed me here to serve the
people.”

Rejecting criticism of any discrimination against Muslims, Adityanath said Muslims are 20% of the state’s population but their share is 35-40% among the beneficiaries of government welfare schemes and asserted that he does not believe either in discrimination or in appeasement.

Asked about the row over the warning by his administration in Meerut against offering namaz on roads, he defended the move, saying there was nothing
wrong in it.

“Roads are meant for walking. Those who are speaking (against the decision) should learn discipline from Hindus. Sixty-six crore people arrived in Prayagraj. There was no robbery, destruction of property, arson, abduction… This is called religious discipline. If you want benefits, you should also follow discipline,” he said.

Slamming critics of Waqf (Amendment) Bill, he said Waqf boards have become a den of selfish interests as well as “loot khasot” (property grabbing), and have done little for the welfare of Muslims.

Citing examples of charity in fields like education and health by Hindu temples and mutts, he asked if any Waqf board has done welfare work like this despite having properties many times more. Forget about the entire society, have Waqf properties been used for any welfare of Muslims, he asked.

“It (Waqf) has become a medium to capture any government property. This reform is the need of the hour, and all reforms draw opposition. I believe Muslims will benefit from this (proposed law),” he said.

With his “bulldozer model” now adopted by other states too, Adityanath told PTI he did not consider the popular practice as an achievement but a necessity. The bulldozer can be used to create infrastructure and remove encroachments as well, he said. “It seems to me we have shown how it can be used in a better way.”

He also claimed that the Supreme Court has supported the UP administration’s use of bulldozers and never reprimanded it. However, again on Tuesday, the SC came down heavily on the UP government and Prayagraj administration for demolishing homes without legality.

Explaining his perspective on the intersection of religion and politics, Adityanath said, “We limit religion to a confined space and restrict politics to a handful of people, and that is where the problem arises. If politics is driven by self-interest, it will create problems. But if it is for the greater good, it will provide solutions. We have to choose between being part of the problem or the solution, and I believe this is what religion also teaches us.”

He also slammed any politics over language, asserting that the states whose leaders are furthering it are on a gradual decline, and said several languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali or Marathi can become the cornerstone of national unity. He said the UP government was teaching languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi to students. “Does this diminish Uttar Pradesh in any way? Does it make UP look small?” he asked.

The CM said everyone believes Hindi should be respected, but India has adopted the three-language formula. “This three-language formula ensures that regional languages also get the same respect. Every language has its own speciality which becomes the cornerstone of national unity,” Adityanath said.

On the future of Congress, he said the party has lost its connection with its origins, strayed from its values and faces an existential crisis as it was headed towards writing its own death
certificate.

Meanwhile, reacting to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s recent statement that BJP government develops cow shelters since they like foul smell, Adityanath said they have abandoned the cows, with their leader claiming that cow dung has an unpleasant smell.

“This shows their true nature. They used to hand over cows to butchers. When we sent the butchers to hell, the Samajwadi Party had a problem,” he said.

He pointed out that those with ties to cow smugglers and butchers would never understand the service of cow. “They only see the smell in cow dung, but they don’t see the foul smell in their actions,” Yogi added.