PunjabChief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday slammed his Uttar Pradeshcounterpart Yogi Adityanath over his ‘inflammatory tweet on the declaration ofMalerkotla as the 23rd district of Punjab, terming it as an attempt to incitecommunal hatred in the peaceful state as part of the BJP's divisive policies.
AmarinderSingh also asked Adityanath to stay out of his state's affairs, which heclaimed to be in much better shape than those in Uttar Pradesh under the BJPgovernment, which has been actively promoting communal discord in the state forthe past over four years.
"Whatdoes he (Adityanath) know of Punjab's ethos or the history of Malerkotla, whoserelationship with Sikhism and its Gurus is known to every Punjabi? And whatdoes he understand of the Indian Constitution, which is being brazenly trampledevery day by his own government in UP," asked Amarinder Singh, in a strongreaction to Adityanath's tweet describing Malerkotla's new status as a"sign of the divisive policies of the Congress".
Mockinghis comment, Amarinder Singh said that given Adityanath government's and BJP'strack record of spreading communal hatred, such a remark is utterly ridiculous,apart from being totally unwarranted and uncalled for.
Thewhole world knows of the communally divisive policies of the BJP, andparticularly the Adityanath-led government in UP, the Chief Minister said in astatement.
Pointingto the spate of changes in names of various UP cities, including Mughal Saraito Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar, Allahabad to Prayagraj and Faizabad toAyodhya, Amarinder Singh dubbed them as an attempt by the Adityanath governmentto rewrite history, which the peace-loving people of India will never condone.
Citingmedia reports, Amarinder Singh recalled that UP was the first state in thecountry to approve 'love jihad' laws, and Adiyanath's open hatred for Taj Mahal(which he sees as a legacy of the Mughals) has been the subject of criticism ininternational press.
Infact, the UP Chief Minister is reportedly the founder of ‘Hindu Yuva Vahini',an organisation that was responsible for starting cow vigilantism, which led tolynching of Muslims in his own state, the Punjab Chief Minister pointed out.
Itis obvious that the tweet of the UP government head on Malerkotla is nothingbut a provocative gesture aimed at creating conflict among the communitiesliving in perfect harmony in Punjab, said the Chief Minister.
Healso termed it as a conspiracy on the part of the BJP to spread disharmony inPunjab ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled next year.
"Butthe UP Chief Minister seems to have forgotten that his own state is also goingto the polls at the same time, and if the recent panchayat poll results are anyindication, the BJP is in for a complete and shocking rout," AmarinderSingh said.
Adityanathshould focus his energies on saving his own state, where the Covid situation isspiraling out of control, with bodies of the victims being found dumped inrivers, thus depriving them of even the dignity of a decent cremation orburial, added Amarinder Singh.