Agra (UP), Aug 26 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here on Monday urged people to stay united to reach the pinnacle of prosperity, saying the mistakes in Bangladesh should not happen in India.
“Batenge toh katenge (if divided, we will be cut up),” he said during an inauguration event in Agra.
His remark triggered sharp criticism from opposition leaders, including AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi who accused Adityanath of himself creating a divide in Uttar Pradesh with his hate speeches against Muslims and directions to run bulldozers on houses of people of the minority community.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also took a jibe at Adityanath, saying he wants to become the prime minister but should not be already interfering in foreign affairs decisions that are taken up by New Delhi.
Bangladesh recently saw massive anti-government protests, leading to the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The country continued to witness incidents of violence, including targetted attacks on the Hindu minority community, even after the fall of the Hasina-led government.
Addressing a gathering at the programme here, Adityanath said, “There can be nothing bigger than the nation, and when will a nation be strong, when we are united and good.” “Aap dekh rahe hain Bangladesh mein kya ho raha hai? Wo galatiyan yahan nahi honi chahiye. Batenge toh katenge! Ek rahenge to nek rahenge, surakshit rahenge aur samriddhi ki parakashtha ko pahuchenge,” the chief minister said in Hindi.
Roughly translated, he asked people if they are watching what is happening in Bangladesh and said those mistakes should not happen here, adding, “If divided, we will be cut, if together, we will be good, secure and reach the pinnacle of prosperity.” The chief minister also shared a clip of his speech on X.
Criticising his remark while speaking to PTI Videos, Owaisi said, “In his (Yogi Adityanath) rule today, houses of Muslims are demolished using bulldozers. He gives hate speeches against Muslims.” “Earlier, Adityanath had himself said ‘thok denge’. Now, he is saying ‘batenge toh katenge’ when he is the one dividing people. He is saying all this because he can see that his party members want to remove him from his post and this is his insecurity and unpopularity in Uttar Pradesh,” the MP added.
Meanwhile, SP supremo Yadav, during an interaction with mediapersons in Lucknow on Janmashtami, said, “He (Adityanath) wants to become the prime minister but at least he should not play the role of prime minister. This is the job of the prime minister, the government of India to decide the relations India wants with which country of the world.” “This is not the first time that the chief minister has done something like this. He has done it in the past too. I hope ‘Delhi-wale’ will make him understand that he should not interfere in the decisions that are taken by Delhi,” the former UP chief minister said.
After inaugurating a statue of Durga Das Rathore near the Taj Mahal metro station here, Adityanath said, “We have to realise the resolve of Viksit Bharat (developed India).” Rathore was a commander in the army of erstwhile Jodhpur province’s king Maharaja Jaswant Singh who took on Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in the 17th century.
After unveiling the statue, the chief minister said “evil and cunning” Aurangzeb killed Singh by deceit.
He added that it was an honour for him to inaugurate the statue in the centenary year of the ‘Kakori Train Action’, which is being celebrated in the state, and on the day of Janmashtami.
“In a country where great heroes like Durgadas Rathore are born, no foreign invader can harm that country in any way. Humble tribute to him!” he later said on X.
Addressing the gathering in Agra, Adityanath said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a clarion call for making India a developed nation by 2047 and it is the everyone’s combined duty to work towards realising this resolve.
Highlighting the mythological significance of Agra, he said, “Agra is an important part of the Braj region. Every particle of this region is believed to be the abode of Lord Krishna. This place has art, culture, faith, and devotion.” “In his ‘panch-pran’ (five resolves), PM Modi said all symbols of slavery will be done away with; we will honour our soldiers and bravehearts and work towards unity and solidarity. We will not allow anyone to spread hatred in the society,” Adityanath said.
“We will be cautious of forces that divide us on the basis of caste, region, language and all other ideologies and by discharging our civic duties, we will establish India as the biggest power in the world,” he added, speaking about the resolves. PTI KIS COR RPA
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