Hindustan Times (Delhi)

In Adityanath’s Gorakhpur, both Hindus and Muslims celebrate

- Abdul Jadid letters@hindustant­imes.com

Chief minister designate Yogi Adityanath’s city — Gorakhpur — erupted in celebratio­ns after he was selected for Uttar Pradesh’s top job.

Members of all communitie­s welcomed his appointmen­t and felt Adityanath’s elevation to the CM post would usher in growth in Uttar Pradesh.

“We welcome the move to make Yogi chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. It seems now that some good change will come to Gorakhpur and the state as a whole,” 25-year-old Mohammad Kaleem Farooqui, a trader, said.

According to Farooqui, Adityanath’s elevation will not affect the state’s Muslims adversely.

“This government is not the government of a particular person. We all have elected this government and feel it will ensure the state’s developmen­t by taking everyone together,” he said.

Syed Ahmed, a garment trader in the city’s Ghantaghar area, also echoed similar sentiments. “This is something we wanted from our heart. Now, wherever we go, we will feel proud because we belong to the chief minister’s city.”

Ahmed hoped that Adityanath’s new political role would help him shed his image of a hardline Hindutva leader.

“Once a person assumes constituti­onal responsibi­lity, he overcomes such things,” he added.

People from the Hindu community, especially the business class who treat Adityanath­a as their patron, also expressed happiness over his elevation.

“Even before becoming the chief minister, he (Adityanath) had already done so much developmen­t work in Gorakhpur. It is because of his efforts that Gorakhpur got an AIIMS and the fertiliser factory was reopened. We hope that Uttar Pradesh will move further on the path of developmen­t under his leadership,” said Rakesh Kumar Gupta, a trader.

Gupta’s younger brother Rajesh Gupta, also a businessma­n, said Adityanath was the only person who would help take forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India