Adityanath targets ‘romeos’, cow smuggling, gutkaeaters
LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday ordered a complete ban on cow smuggling and asked police for a plan to close down illegal abattoirs in UP, where a “cattle thief” was lynched, shops burnt and several meat units sealed.
The chief minister also told government officials not to chew pan or pan masala at work after he noticed betel-stained walls of a secretariat building in Lucknow. He asked the staff to keep the premises clean and avoid using plastic.
The slaughterhouse crackdown is in keeping with the BJP’s poll promise of shutting down illegal and mechanised abattoirs. The party was recently voted to power with a brute majority of 325 in the 403member House.
LUCKNOW/GORAKHPUR: With a temple priest at the helm, the official residence of Uttar Pradesh chief minister is set for a saintly makeover. The residence at Lucknow’s 5, Kalidas Marg was “purified” on Monday after Yogi Adityanath assumed office.
Adityanath is the head priest of the Gorakhnath temple. He is a member of the Nath sect, whose members perform yajnas daily.
The chief minister, who offered a 10-minute puja at 5 KD Marg, is expected to hold ‘yajnas’ at his official residence too.
Moreover, All leather products, including sofa sets, are being moved out of rooms reserved for personal use of the chief minister.
After his return from Delhi on Tuesday night, the CM has put up at the VVIP guest house raising the possibility of him shifting to 5 KD Marg on the auspicious period of Navratras — considered holy by the Hindus — beginning next Tuesday.
In Gorakhpur, Adityanath used to begin his day tending to cows, a practice he is likely to bring to the CM’s residence.
A cowshed could come up where about 10 cows from the Gorakhnath temple ‘gaushala’ are expected to be brought to Lucknow. Shiv Parsan, the caretaker of the temple, said Yogi offered jaggery, biscuits, fruits and fresh grass to the cows.
The special saffron dress that Yogi wears while performing his daily morning rituals, the idols and other ancillary items he requires would soon be sent to Lucknow, said Kamal Nath, the priest of Gorakhnath temple.