First time a CM is talking about revenge: Priyanka
This is the land of Rama and Krishna who are symbols of compassion
LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday targeted chief minister Yogi Adityanath for purportedly having talked about ‘revenge’ against those who resorted to violence during the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
She also said Yogi Adityanath’s saffron robes signified Hinduism and he should practise the religion that had no place for revenge and violence.
Priyanka said it was for the first time in history that a chief minister was speaking about taking revenge and the police were sticking to his statement of revenge.
She said the chief minister should follow the religion and traditions of India that his saffron robes represented.
“Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath wears the robes of a Yogi, the saffron. Saffron does not belong to you (Yogi). Saffron represents India’s religious and spiritual traditions. This is a symbol of Hinduism. The chief minister should practise the religion. This religion (Hinduism) has no place for revenge and violence,” she said to media persons at the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) headquarters here.
“This is the land of Lord Krishna, who is a symbol of compassion. Lord Rama too symbolises compassion. Everybody dances in the marriage procession of Shiva. There is no place for revenge and violence in the soul of this country. When Lord Krishna gave the preaching of Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield, he did not talk about revenge,” said Priyanka.
A delegation of Congress leaders had met governor Anandiben Patel at Raj Bhawan early on Monday morning and submitted a memorandum signed by Priyanka and UPCC president Ajay Kumar Lallu, demanding a judicial probe into the alleged ‘unlawful’ conduct of police during the course of public demonstrations against the CAA and implementation of a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Priyanka read out four main demands that the party had made in its 14-page memorandum, along with two-page annexures.
She said, “immediate orders for exercising restraint be issued by the state home department and the DGP to ensure the cessation of such violent, unlawful and criminal acts by UP government and the police.”
She also said, “An impartial assessment of all cases filed on peaceful protesters and their validity be made with immediate effect by an independent commission under a sitting or a retired high court judge.”
The other two demands include suspension of notices for confiscation of property without following judicial process and till completion of inquiry, and an assurance to innocent students participating in peaceful demonstrations that they would not face any academic or legal repercussions. She spoke at length about various incidents that took place during protests against CAA or the police action against over 5000 people. She specifically referred to problems faced by the family members of two youths killed in violence in Bijnor and the arrest of former IPS officer SR Darapuri,
her party worker and social activist Sadaf Jafar. The Congress general secretary said Jafar’s two children were waiting for their mother and living with four cats in the house in her absence.
She said CAA was unconstitutional and all the Congress chief ministers and others had declared that the new law would not be implemented in their respective states.
“All the Congress chief ministers have said they will not impose the NRC. Some other parties have also made similar announcements. So this cannot be implemented because the people
will not allow this,” she said replying to a question.
She further said, “Everybody has objection to the CAA. You will ask for documents from the poor, labourers or workers in urban areas. This law will create problems for the people in the same manner as did demonatisation. Today, all the students are on the roads. They are students and they know what is happening. NRC is not a certificate about legal citizenship,” she said. Replying to another question about her security, Priyanka said her security was not a big issue and the state was facing bigger issues.