CM slams Oppn over CAA protests
The opposition is acting in an irresponsible manner when India is emerging as an economic power
LUCKNOW : Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday targeted the opposition over the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and said that those supporting the protesters should not remain under any illusion “and should note that there would never be ‘qayamat’ (doomsday). “Why so much hue and cry over CAA? I want to ask those sitting here (opposition members) and sup- porting the CAA protests: What do you want to achieve by tar- nishing India’s image? What do you want to prove by this violence and arson and targeting of inno- cent people? Don’t be under any illusion and please note – ‘Qayamat ka din kabhi nahin aane wala hai (doomsday will never come),” said the chief minister without explaining his words.
LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday targeted the opposition over the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and said that those supporting the protesters should not remain under any illusion “and should note that there would never be ‘qayamat’ (doomsday).
“Why so much hue and cry over CAA? I want to ask those sitting here (opposition members) and supporting the CAA protests: What do you want to achieve by tarnishing India’s image? What do you want to prove by this violence and arson and targeting of innocent people? Don’t be under any illusion and please note – ‘Qayamat ka din kabhi nahin aane wala hai (doomsday will never come),” said the chief minister without explaining his words.
He was intervening in the general debate on the budget for 2020-2021 in the state assembly here.
Yogi, who listed the state’s largest annual budget of Rs 5,12,860.72 crore among steps to make Uttar Pradesh a trillion dollar economy, said those who want to tweak the law to suit themselves should understand that they would not succeed.
“The opposition is acting in an irresponsible manner when India is emerging as an economic power of the world,” he said and added that the government believed in dialogue and was not taking the democratic rights of anyone. “But government will realise the cost of damages from those indulging in violence and arson in the name of democratic rights,” said Yogi.
The chief minister said the CAA protests were unnecessary as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again asserted that no one would lose citizenship by the CAA. He said the Congress government had enacted the citizenship law in 1955 and the BJP government had only carried out an amendment changing the time limit provided for giving citizenship from 11 years to five years.
“A law is fine if they enact it. They call it bad law if we enact it. They are creating confusing in the name of CAA. They are diverting energy of official machinery that should have been working for development,” he said.
Yogi said any law enacted by the parliament would be implemented in UP. The chief minister said his government would provide security to all sections of society and not indulge in appeasement of any community. He referred to ban on playing of DJs during the tenure of the previous government and said there was no court order banning DJs.
“You banned it because you wanted to play with the beliefs of Hinduism. You were allergic to robes the kanwariyas put on,” he said.
Referring to the violence at some places recently, Yogi said groups of people indulged in violence and expected that the police would not lathi-charge them. He said the government would not allow anybody to take law into their hands.
He listed the various steps taken by his government on the law and order and development fronts.
Reacting to Yogi’s ‘Qayamat’ comment, Samajwadi Party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said his party was fighting to save the Constitution.