Hai Ram! Yogi Adityanath is the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh
Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP's) landslide victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls seems to have instilled in the saffron party renewed hubris.
There can be no other possible explanation for the appointment of Hindutva ideologue Yogi Adityanath as CM of India's most populous state.
The five-time Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur is the head priest (mahant) at the Gorakhnath Math, and the founder of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a hardliner group was named in the 2005 Mau riots.
The controversial BJP MP has been one of the more criticised members of the party. He is known for inciting communal hatred and a preacher of the dangers of love-jihad and has been an advocate of ghar wapsi.
In 2014, a video of Yogi Adityanath surfaced in which he was seen urging Hindus to convert Muslim girls as retribution for Muslim youths marrying Hindu girls.
In 2015, Adityanath's comments yet again led to public outrage when he said that those who oppose “surya namaskar” are free to leave India.
Adityanath has also compared Shah Rukh Khan to the Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed, saying that “Shah Rukh Khan should remember that majority population of the Country made him the Star, and if they boycot his films, he will also have to wander on streets. It is unfortunate SRK is speaking the same language that of Hafiz Saeed."
But as far as being the champion of hate speech goes, Yogi gained further notoriety when he was linked to a video that showed him sharing the stage with another right-wing leader, who told the audience to dig up and rape Muslim women’s corpses.
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| Photo: DailyO |
The choice of the 44-year-old firebrand leader as CM implies that the Ram Mandir promise is a clear and present priority for the ruling party.
After all, if a hardliner Hindu ideologue doesn’t get the job done, who will?
Adityanath’s appointment has been met with a lot of criticism on social media, with many questioning the BJP’s election promises.
The saffron party that ran with a so-called development agenda, one that led to the fall of Akhilesh Yadav, is now taking a swift and blatant turn towards communal politics and majority appeasement post victory.
— dorku (@Dorkstar) March 18, 2017
Agar ab bhi mandir nahin bana to kabhi nahi banega. #YogiAdityanath
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) March 18, 2017
#YogiAdityanath as #UPCM will be karma catching up with BJP voters pretty quick.
— Dudguru (@inquestioner) March 18, 2017
Yogi rather inevitable when you see the majoritarian verdict! Why the shock? #YogiAdityanath
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) March 18, 2017
Pic 1 ~ What People of UP expectedPic 2 ~ What People of UP got#YogiAdityanath pic.twitter.com/BRnGd0WstC
— Virender Sahwag (@virendersahwag) March 18, 2017
Yogi Adityanath after Akhilesh Yadav, what a fall!
— Angellica Aribam (@AngellicAribam) March 18, 2017
Aaah! Yogi Adityanath, the man who asked Hindus to rape dead Muslim women is "UP's new CM". This is Modi's India!
— Salman Nizami (@SalmanNizami_) March 18, 2017
Working overtime now: a PR industry recasting Yogi Adityanath as vikaspurush.
— Shivam Vij (@DilliDurAst) March 18, 2017
Yogi Adityanath to be UP CM?BJP digging own grave? Development agenda during elections; Hatred agenda after the win.
— Tinu Cherian Abraham (@tinucherian) March 18, 2017
While on the one hand, BJP seems to have made a reasonable choice with the reappointment of Manohar Parrikar as the Goa CM, the appointment of Yogi Adityanath as the CM (possibly to ensure the fulfilment of the Ramrajya dream) of Uttar Pradesh sets the party at least 20 steps back into the dark ages.