It appears that the BJP is keen to showcase UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s ‘bulldozer justice’ in order to reap the dividends of polarisation, despite the Supreme Court repudiating this state act of razing properties belonging to individuals facing criminal offences. A report by Mudit Mathur
With a series of electoral rallies addressed by BJP’s star campaigner and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the battleground in Haryana is heating up. Heavy demand for Yogi Adityanath is desired in those areas where the BJP sees dividends of communal polarisation and the Hindu-Muslim divide.
Yogi addressed a public rally in Jind where he slammed Abhay Chautala’s party, the INLD and the Congress, with the rhetoric that Hindu temples were looted during the Congress regime. “Whether it is Congress or INLD, they are happy with dynastic politics. They insult Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar, they insult Lord Ram, Lord Krishna. They only think of their political gains, not national security,” he said.
In a rally in the Narwana assembly seat in Jind on September 22, Adityanath publicised the UP model of tackling crime as he sought votes for the BJP. The party candidate, Krishan Bedi, a former minister, had placed at least six bulldozers near the rally’s venue to welcome Adityanath. It appears that the BJP is keen to showcase Yogi Adityanath’s ‘Bulldozer justice’ despite the strong disapproval of the Supreme Court regarding its discriminatory uses, without following due process of law as a tool against the persons facing criminal offences.
Adityanath claimed in the rally that not a single riot has happened ever since he took charge of UP in 2017 due to his policies. “Krishna Bedi ne pehle hi danga karne walon ke liye ye samne upkaran khada kar diye hain (Krishna Bedi has already parked in front of us the equipment for those involved in riots),” said Adityanath, in an oblique indication towards his much-publicised demolition drive against the property of accused persons by using bulldozers.
Boasting of his achievements during his tenure to handle the situation of bad law and order, Yogi said, “Rioters feared the consequences of their action. They knew that if they engage in any such act, the earnings acquired by seven generations of their family would be confiscated and be distributed among the poor,” said Adityanath in an indirect reference to killing and encounters of Mafia Atiq Ahmed and his family, whose confiscated property was allotted to poor after building EWS houses thereon.
In a rally at Karnal, Yogi remarked, “Rioters in UP either ran away from the state or left for their ‘Ram Naam yatra’, in a clear reference to their death in police encounters.
Slamming Congress for not building the Ram temple at Ayodhya, Yogi said during a rally in Jind, “If the Ram Mandir could not be built in Ayodhya immediately after independence, the party that wore the cloak of “secularism” were responsible for it.” “The Congress is trying to divide Hindu society and make people from different castes fight each other,” he alleged
Yogi also asked why during the recent political turmoil in Bangladesh, the Congress did not utter a single word for the Hindus who were killed and the temples that were demolished in the neighbouring country. “The Hindus facing oppression in Bangladesh, 90% of them are Dalits, but the Congress is worried about its vote bank and not Hindus,” added Adityanath in a highly charged speech.
Pitching for unity among Hindus, Yogi remarked, “I’m here to appeal to you. They want to divide you through caste politics. Remember, If you divide, you will suffer; if you stay united, you will succeed. No one can harm you.”
“Today, the structure of the Congress has become dilapidated like the Babri (mosque) structure in Ayodhya… when Lord Ram’s devotees had raised the slogan ‘Ek dhakka aur do, Babri dhanche ko tod do’. The Babri structure has been demolished forever. The structure of slavery was demolished, paving the way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya,” Adityanath said at a rally in the Assandh assembly constituency of Karnal district in support of BJP candidate and Karnal district president Yoginder Rana.
Yogi attacked the Congress for ‘obstructing’ the construction of the Nankana Sahib corridor and criticised the party for its handling of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Sharpening his attack on Rahul Gandhi for his recent assertions about Sikhs during his US visit, Yogi said, “What was Rahul Gandhi saying abroad, he was abusing Sikhs. He was defaming India. “When Gandhi visits abroad, he raises a question on the country’s constitutional bodies, attacks the country’s faith,” he added.
“Rahul Gandhi does not miss any opportunity to defame the country in the world. These people play with the security of the country. It will be meaningless to expect that they will make any effort for the security and prosperity of India,” Yogi remarked. He criticized the Congress in Haryana, alleging that it incites riots and promotes corruption even as he urged voters to support the BJP for development. Appealing to the voters to support the BJP, Yogi warned, “If they provide the Congress with oxygen, it will lead to riots in the country.”
Adityanath also attacked the INLD, stating that the party lacks relevance outside Haryana and cannot contribute to development. He praised the BJP for transforming Uttar Pradesh, claiming that riots and lawlessness have been curbed since 2017. He highlighted the role of the “double-engine” BJP government in driving development in both UP and Haryana.
Addressing a rally in the Narwana constituency in Jind, the UP Chief Minister alleged that the Congress worked to divide the society by promoting casteism and communalism. “The Congress has insulted Baba Saheb Ambedkar. But PM Narendra Modi started many schemes in the honour of Baba Saheb, like converting his house into a memorial to spread his teachings to the masses. Whenever the Congress came to power, it oppressed the scheduled castes,” Yogi alleged. “There is no lawlessness in UP today,” he claimed.
Addressing a rally at Jakholi village of Rai constituency in Sonipat district in support of BJP candidate Krishna Gahalawat, Yogi said this Assembly election was the battle to move the vision ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ of Prime Minister Modi onward. The people have witnessed the transformation of Haryana in the last 10 years and also witnessed the change in the state.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has earned a prime place among the BJP leaders of other states as his demand as a star campaigner in the poll-bound states has been growing tremendously as compared to others because of his firebrand oratory having capabilities to polarise voters to the BJP fold.
