In a rally held in Kawardha assembly seat of poll-bound Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed a crowd of supporters, promising action against “love jihad” and cow smuggling in Chhattisgarh if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power in the state. Adityanath urged the voters to support a “double engine government” in the state and took aim at the Congress party.
Referring to the Congress’s victory in the 2018 polls in Chhattisgarh as a “mistake,” Adityanath claimed that during their rule, Ram Navami processions were banned, and a worker opposing “love jihad” was brutally murdered.
“There is a double-engine government of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh. Love jihad has been completely banned there. A law has been made in this connection and against conversion. No one can convert illegally. If anyone does such an act, he or she will have to face the consequences,” he said.
“Love jihad” is a term used by right-wing activists to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to get Hindu women to convert by luring them into marriage.
Adityanath said, “I am urging you to allow a double-engine government in Chhattisgarh too. They (Congress) have been trying to disturb law and order in the name of love jihad, cow smuggling, and the mining mafia. Just like in Uttar Pradesh, action will be taken against such acts. Then there will be no problem.”
“Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh have a very cordial relationship. For the people of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh is like their maternal home. This state is the maternal home of Lord Ram and the paternal home of Mata Kaushalya,” he said.
The Chief Minister accused the Chhattisgarh government, led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, of corruption and claimed that in the last five years, the Congress had disrupted development in the state, which he described as the party’s tradition.
Adityanath stated, “The Congress is a problem for the country, society, and public. It is the Congress which gave terrorism, separatism, policy of appeasement, Naxalism, corruption, and anarchy.”
Adityanath also criticized the Congress for alleged scams in the Public Service Commission, liquor, and cow dung procurement. He concluded by highlighting the BJP’s commitment to good governance, development, and security under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Chhattisgarh is set to hold assembly polls in two phases on November 7 and 17, with votes scheduled to be counted on December 3. The upcoming election will determine whether the BJP can secure a “double engine government” in the state, as promised by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
