Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath claimed Friday that previous governments in UP had turned Deoband into a centre of religious fanaticism and that fatwas (orders from Islamic religious leaders) used to be issued on virtually everything in day-to-day lives of people. Addressing poll rallies in Saharanpur and Kairana LS seats, the CM, in an indirect reference to the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, said, “Pehle har baat per fatwa zari hota tha. Corona vaccine lagvani hai ya nahi, ye bhi fatwa taya karta tha. Humne sare mike hi utarwa diye. Na rahega baans, na bajegi bansuri. (Earlier, fatwas used to be issued on nearly everything. Whether or not one should take the corona vaccine was decided through fatwas. We removed all the loudspeakers (from mosques) and got rid of the problem).” Referring to slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, he said, “There used to be a mafia don in Prayagraj who usurped properties by force. When I began taking action against him, I was warned he was very powerful but I said we will see how powerful he is.” The illegally occupied properties were freed and his government built houses for the poor people there, Adityanath added. The Congress, SP and the BSP, the CM claimed, were on same page for they encouraged religious fanaticism, indulge in appeasement politics and provide shelter to criminal elements when in power. “Could these parties have built the Ram Temple in Ayodhya or abrogated Article 370 in J&K or withdrawn triple talaq provision?” he said.
