In an exclusive interview to News18 on Friday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condemned the attack on AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi’s vehicle in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh but added that leaders should be cautious not to hurt religious sentiments in election speeches.
In his first interview after filing nomination for the Gorakhpur Assembly seat, Yogi Adityanath told Rahul Joshi, Group Editor-in-Chief, Network18 that the firing on Owaisi’s vehicle on Thursday was “intolerable and unacceptable”.
“In a democracy, we believe in the ballot and not the bullet. This kind of incident is intolerable and unacceptable. We have our ideological differences but my government won’t allow anyone to take the law into their own hands. The police have been swift in taking action against the perpetrators,” the CM said.
Two people, one from Gautam Buddh Nagar and the other from Saharanpur in western Uttar Pradesh, have been arrested and charged with attempt to murder in connection with the attack.
Adityanath, however, added that political leaders should also be mindful of their election speeches. “I appeal to leaders of all political parties to keep in mind while making election speeches not to hurt the sentiments of any group. I appeal to them to not toy with beliefs for vote bank as it will provoke reactions,” Yogi Adityanath said during the interview at Gorakhpur Temple.
The Uttar Pradesh CM added that Owaisi should be provided with security. “We have already given him Y+ category security. The government was not aware of his program and the route taken by him.”
Owaisi, MP from Hyderabad, was given ‘Z’ category security on Friday but the prominent Muslim leader rejected the protection and asked the government to instead make him an “A category citizen at par with all”.
Yogi Adityanath filed his nomination from Gorakhpur Assembly seat, his home turf, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday. This is the first time that Adityanath, a five-time former Lok Sabha MP, is contesting the state Assembly elections as a candidate.
Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2022 will be held in seven phases on the following dates: February 10 (Thursday), February 14 (Monday), February 20 (Sunday), February 23 (Wednesday), February 27 (Sunday), March 3 (Thursday) ) and March 7 (Monday).
The Uttar Pradesh election results 2022 will be declared on March 10 (Thursday) when counting of votes in UP takes place along with four other poll-bound states – Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
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