On Karnataka campaign trail, UP CM Yogi Adityanath asks why quota for Muslims after Partition on religious lines

At an event, Adityanath said, “In the last six years, there has been no rioting and no curfew in UP. I want to congratulate the double-engine government for banning outfits like the PFI, and the outfit’s spine has been broken in Karnataka. Please think about it, the double-engine government bans the PFI and on the other side, the Congress promotes the PFI. The Congress gives reservations based on religion. Reservation based on religion is against the constitution of India.”

#BJPWinningKarnataka #BJPYeBharavase #DoubleEnginevsReverseGear pic.twitter.com/D9HLji3q7g

— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 26, 2023

He added, “We have given reservations based on castes but there has been a division of the country based on religion in 1947 and, as a result, reservation cannot be provided based on religion. We are not ready for an internal division. Only the vision of ‘One India and Excellent India’ will take the country forward.”

The BJP has, in recent times, attempted to project the Natha Panth association of Adityanath and the Adichunchungiri Mutt of the Vokkaligas as a symbol of close ties between the two. Adityanath has frequently said UP and Karnataka have a close relationship and the Gorakhnath tradition exists in Karnataka through Bhagwan Shree Manjunath and the traditions of the Adichunchungiri Mutt.

Apart from Mandya, which has a small Hindutva undercurrent due to Vokkaligas’ religiosity, the UP CM also campaigned in the Vijayapura district of north Karnataka.

ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶ ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವದ ಜನನಿ. ಪ್ರಜಾತಂತ್ರ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯನ್ನು ಇಡೀ ಲೋಕಕ್ಕೇ ಪರಿಚಯಿಸಿದವರು ಜಗಜ್ಯೋತಿ ಬಸವೇಶ್ವರರು. ಮಹಾಮಹಿಮರಾದ ಜಗದ್ಗುರು ಬಸವೇಶ್ವರರು ಜನಿಸಿದ ಈ ಪುಣ್ಯಭೂಮಿಗೆ ಕೋಟಿ ಕೋಟಿ ನಮನಗಳು.

– ಶ್ರೀ @myogiadityanath#BJPMahaPracharaAbhiyana #BJPWinningKarnataka #BJPYeBharavase pic.twitter.com/IG4c4RaxeP

— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 26, 2023

The UP CM also invited the voters to visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya when it is opened in January 2024 by the prime minister. “I have come to invite you as well. You have contributed to the Ram Janam Bhoomi movement, and a grand temple is being built in Ayodhya. In January 2024, the mandir will be completed and with the efforts of PM Modi, the temple will have its Ram Lalla idol in its place. It will be the first time in 500 years that Lord Ram will be seated in his own temple. It is going to be a proud moment for all Indians. I have come to invite all Bajrangbalis for the event of seating the Ram Lalla idol,” Adityanath said. He also claimed that Hanuman, who was a close associate of Lord Ram, had origins in Karnataka.

The UP CM said at his rallies that the pride of Karnataka must be re-established by aligning with development. “India has everything but there was no leadership before 2014. It was after 2014 that India got the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. The Congress talks about development, but the Congress’s legacy in development is the five-year plans. Projects were never completed. This is the reality of the Congress,” the UP CM said.

“Today, you can see that railway projects, airport projects, IITs and IIMs are being built, IT cities are being built, and work is happening in the agriculture sector. The day the foundation stone is laid for a project, the inauguration date is also fixed. PM Modi, who lays the foundation stone, will also carry out the inauguration,” he said.

The UP CM has a lot of fan following in Mandya for his “bulldozer baba” credentials. “He has created fear among criminals in UP, but over here, the government is very soft,” said Thimappa, a farmer from Maddur who attended the rally.

“He finished off the goondas in his state. The bulldozer speaks in UP,” said Ramesh N, another farmer at the UP CM’s rally.

“For the BJP, it is a now-or-never moment in Mandya. In the village areas, they are weak, but in the city, they have a following,” he added.

In 2018, the Janata Dal (Secular) won all seven of the Assembly segments in Mandya and the electoral fight this time is widely believed to be between the JDS and the Congress.