Kanwar yatris subjected to media trial, termed terrorists and rioters: Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday slammed attempts to what he said label the ‘kanwarias’ (devotees carrying pitchers filled with sacred Ganga waters to be offered at Shiva temple during the Hindu month of Shravana) as ‘hooligans’ and ‘terrorists’.

Speaking at a function in Varanasi, Adityanath termed such attempts as ‘media trial’ intended to defame them as well as India’s heritage.

The chief minister’s remarks came amid reports of ‘kanwarias’ going on the rampage on the kanwar routes in Uttar Pradesh and the neighboring Uttarakhand over minor incidents that have been pouring unabated since the kanwar yatra began a few days back.

‘’All sections of the society are associated with the kanwar yatra….there is no distinction there on the basis of caste and class….the devotees walk chanting Bum Bhole but they are being called hooligans and terrorists….it is wrong….this mentality is humiliating to India’s heritage,’’ he said.

Adityanath also said that there was a need to banish people from the society who tried to foment violence between communities through fake social media accounts and adopting fake identities.

‘’There was an incident of arson two-three years back…then I had said that this must not have been done by a particular community….the investigation revealed that the perpetrator sported a saffron scarf but he chanted Allah….such people should be identified and banished from the society…only then we can strengthen national unity,’’ he added.

‘’They are the people who have tried to incite the tribals and separate them from the country….they always hurt our faith….they want to trigger caste clashes,’’ Adityanath said.

The chief minister also referred to an incident when a ‘tazia ‘(a symbolic structure which ais a replica of the mausoleum of Imam Hussain carried in a procession during the month of Muharram by Shia Muslims to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in the battle of Karbala accidentally touched a high tension wire in Jaunpur.

‘’The crowd blocked the road in protest…the police asked me what they should do?.....I told the cops to use force laton ke bhoot baaton se nahin mante( those who understand the language of force can’t be persuaded by dialogue),’’ he remarked.

There were reports of kanwarias ransacking shops and damaging vehicles in parts of UP and Uttarakhand over minor incidents.