Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Wednesday, said that Hinduism was not a caste, sect or religion, but rather the guarantee of India’s security, unity and cohesion.

Participating in the second edition of ‘Hindu Gaurav Diwas’ programme, organised on the third death anniversary of late Kalyan Singh, Yogi said: “Remember, as long as the Sanatan Hindu society of India remains strong, no force can undermine the unity and integrity of our nation. However, if this unity is fractured, foreign conspiracies aimed at dividing India will gain ground. We must ensure that these conspiracies do not succeed.”

“They who seek to divide you present themselves with different faces, behaviors, and characters. They will say one thing, show another, and act entirely differently. Whenever given the chance, they have incited riots in Uttar Pradesh and have disrespected Hindu heroes", he added.

Paying tribute to former Chief Minister late Kalyan Singh, fondly called 'Babuji', Yogi stated: “Emulating Kalyan Singhji is no easy feat. It demands great struggle, the ability to face challenges, self-renunciation, and sacrifice. This is why Kalyan Singhji earned the profound trust of the public. He battled the forces of his time, persevered through difficult conditions, and remained steadfast in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement.”

Pointing out that the result of his struggle resonates across the world today giving every Sanatan believer a pleasant feeling, Yogi described the journey of late Kalyan Singh as one from “zero to zenith”.

Chief Minister Yogi said the zero-tolerance policy introduced by the revered Babuji in 1991 remains in effect today.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi this double-engine government will continue to uphold a zero-tolerance stance against crime, criminals, corruption and corrupt individuals, regardless of the cost. Not a single citizen will be harmed,” he affirmed.

Yogi described the entire journey of late Kalyan Singh from that of a farmer, to a teacher to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh volunteer, Bharatiya Janata Party worker, MLA and MP, a health minister in post-Emergency Janata Party government and chief minister when the BJP first secured a significant majority, fueled by the momentum from the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and then the governor of two states.

He remarked: “The outcome of his contributions to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement is evident today. There are few workers and marginalised communities worldwide who have not witnessed the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya firsthand. In a time when humanity was suppressed, the construction of the Ram temple at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi stands as a beacon of hope. This hope began when ‘Babuji’ declared that even if the government fell, we would not target Ram devotees. Babuji remained steadfast in his commitment to values and ideals.”

Chief Minister Yogi said that his life was dedicated to the nationalism of India. He did not support casteism and kept a distance from the forces that divided the society.

Recalling Kalyan Singh’s pivotal role in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Chief Minister Yogi noted that on October 30 and November 2, 1990, the dark chapter in India’s history, when bullets were fired at Ram devotees in Ayodhya and the then government was attempting to divide the Hindu community, Kalyan Singh stood firm like an immovable rock, opposing those spreading the poison of casteism.

“On December 6, 1992, under intense pressure from the Central government to fire on kar sevaks in Ayodhya, Babuji declared that if the Central government wished, it could dismiss his government, but he would not allow bullets to be fired at Ram devotees. He chose to resign from his post as chief minister rather than compromise on his principles,” Chief Minister Yogi stated.

On this occasion, BJP state president Bhupendra Chaudhary, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, Union Minister BL Verma, former Union minister and former BJP state president Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, former deputy chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Dinesh Sharma, Unnao MP Swami Sakshi Maharaj, state government minister and former BJP state president Surya Pratap Shahi, Swatantra Dev Singh, programme organiser former MP Rajveer Singh (Raju Bhaiya), state government minister Sandeep Singh and other dignitaries were present.

Yogi targets Akhilesh over ‘PDA’ slogan

 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday criticised Akhilesh Yadav over his ‘PDA’ (Pichhde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) slogan, accusing the Samajwadi Party president of showing disrespect towards Other Backward Classes leader and former chief minister Kalyan Singh.

Speaking at the ‘Hindu Gaurav Divas’, Yogi Adityanath targeted Akhilesh Yadav for not paying tributes to late Kalyan Singh, a major figure in the Ram Temple movement, “instead mourning the death of gangster Mukhtar Ansari”.

“Leave alone paying tribute to revered Babuji, the Samajwadi Party chief did not utter a single word of condolence. Meanwhile, when a notorious local mafia passed away, he visited his village to offer Fateha. Is this what PDA stands for? Those who were responsible for the bloodshed of countless Hindus were mourning the mafia’s death as if they had lost a loved one. This reveals the true nature of the PDA,” he said.

Continuing his scathing criticism, Chief Minister Yogi added that the incidents of Ayodhya, Kannauj and Lucknow had exposed the opposition parties completely.

He remarked further: “Unless we unite in our fight against them, they will continue to deceive the people of the state. Today they are worried because their shops of hooliganism and anarchy have been shut down by the double-engine government. Each and every conspiracy of theirs has been thwarted at every turn.”