NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s justification of police crackdown on “violent protesters” has not gone down well with Muslims, who said no “secular person” would speak like Adityanath who, they said, was setting a bad example for India’s democractic system.
Mohammad Jafar, one of the vice-presidents of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, accused Yogi Adityanath of playing “communal politics” over the protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“Adiyanath’s actions are setting a bad example for the country and is responsible for bringing bad name to the country globally. This is a democracy and he cannot boast of silencing demonstrators. Under the name of maintaining law and order, he is defending police firing and violation of human rights. This kind of crackdown cannot be justified,” said Jafar.
He said the Uttar Pradesh CM “needs to learn from other states” like Maharashtra which are allowing large- scale protests in a peaceful manner.
“Adityanath is living in denial if this is his idea of democracy and governance. This is not a matter of Muslims. It is a matter of saving India’s Constitution, but he is trying to convert the situation into a communal riot situation. He will fail and he won’t be able to suppress people from all religions and regions who are trying to save the Constitution.”
Jamiat-Ulama-I-Hind president Arshad Madani also condemned the police’s brutality and the subsequent justification of the same by the CM. The prominent Muslim body aleged that videos on social media and various news reports on the violence show that police has behaved “cruelly” and “ruthlessly” with protesters and people who were not even protesting.
“Governments are run on communal harmony and not how he is running the state. He is certainly not sounding like a chief minister. No secular person or a person who believes in democracy would make the statements he has made. He is boasting about brutality on the people of his own state,” Madani said.
Navaid Hamid, president of All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, an umbrella body of 18 Muslim organisations, said Aditynath was doing a disservice to the nation with his militant acts and subsequent justification of the same. “This is state terrorism and against the established norms of governance...His brutality is bringing bad name to India and has become a centre of negative reporting across globe,” said Hamid.
‘CM boasting of brutality on people’
“Governments are run on communal harmony and not how he is running the state...He is boasting of brutality on the people of his own state, said JuH president Arshad Madani