Akhilesh govt banned Kanwar Yatra while BJP welcomed devotees with flower petals: Adityanath

Basti (UP), Jul 10 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday targeted Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, alleging that the previous government imposed restrictions on Hindu traditions, such as the Kanwar Yatra, while the BJP government welcomed kanwariyas with flower petals. Addressing a gathering in Basti after inaugurating and laying the foundation of 77 development projects worth over Rs 504 crore, Adityanath mocked Yadav, claiming that the SP chief is now “waiting to participate” in the very same Hindu event which his government had allegedly banned. "When Shiv devotees, the kanwariyas, carry water from Saryu in Ayodhya to Bhadeshwarnath Dham (in Basti) to perform 'jalabhishek' of Lord Shiva, we shower flowers upon them from a helicopter. But the (former) Samajwadi Party government had banned this 'Kanwar Yatra'.” “They used to say that the 'Kanwar Yatra' should not take place. They used to impose restrictions on Durga Puja, disallowed the celebration of Shri Krishna Janmashtami, and banned the 84-Kosi Parikrama. Now, no one can impose such restrictions. No one can stop it now," he said. Taking a jibe at Yadav, the UP chief minister said, "I feel that, in the near future, the Samajwadi Party president, too, is waiting to wear saffron attire and join you in the Kanwar Yatra. He seems to be hoping for an invitation, so that he can also go and shower flower petals." He also levelled serious allegations on the Samajwadi Party (SP), saying that whenever the Waqf Board designated a piece of land as a "graveyard", the SP members would displace the poor, Dalits, and the marginalised people from that land. "Earlier, land was encroached upon in the name of graveyards, and the poor were harassed. If the Waqf Board declared a plot to be a graveyard or Waqf land, no one dared to object, and the Dalits, the poor, and the marginalised were uprooted. It was these SP people who carried out such work," he said. Hitting out at other opposition parties as well, he said, "This was the very 'contract' held by the SP, BSP, and Congress." The UP CM said, "The 84-Kosi Parikrama begins at Makhaurhaa Dhaam. You can see the magnificent work being undertaken there. That is the difference. The Samajwadi Party government used to obstruct the 84-Kosi, 14-Kosi, and Panchkosi Parikramas. Under our 'double-engine' BJP government, these ('parikramas') are not stopped." He added that the double-engine government respects faith and develops grand infrastructure facilities to support it. “That is why precisely the 84-Kosi Parikrama route is being developed magnificently for the convenience of pilgrims and to serve as a ring road for Ayodhya,” he added. Citing examples of various initiatives in the realm of faith, Adiyanath said that the renovation of approximately 1,500 temples across Uttar Pradesh has been completed to date. "The state is the same, and the people are the same. Yet, once the faces in the government changed, results began to appear. Funds that were previously spent on constructing boundary walls for graveyards are now being used for the rejuvenation of sacred sites like the Bhadeshwar Nath temple and the Makhaurhaa Dhaam temple," Adityanath said. PTI NAV KSI KSI