Those who talk about 'jihad' are tarnishing democracy: UP CM Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that those who talk about 'jihad' are tarnishing democracy and they should remember that India is the land of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna.

Adityanath was addressing a public meeting in Farrukhabad in support of sitting BJP MP Mukesh Rajput, who is seeking re-election from the Lok Sabha constituency.

His remarks came days after Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Maria Alam, the niece of senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, called for "vote jihad" in favour of Naval Kishore Shakya, the INDIA bloc candidate from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha seat of Uttar Pradesh.

According to a statement issued by the BJP, Adityanath said the people of the SP and the Congress are trying to create divisions on religious lines.

"This is a conspiracy to Islamise India. Under this, they talk about vote jihad. There is no jihad in voting, we have to vote for the strongest democracy in the world so that our rights are protected," he said.

Addressing a public meeting in Kaimganj earlier this week, Alam said "vote jihad" was necessary in the current situation for the minority community to oust the BJP government.

Alam's remarks drew strong criticism from the BJP. Later, Uttar Pradesh Police filed a case against Alam and Khurshid.

Attacking opposition parties, Adityanath said, "Those who robbed the rights of the poor... have started remembering jihad. They should know that the land of India belongs to Ram and Krishna and not jihad."

"You have seen India before and after 2014. India before 2014 had lost confidence in the world and was plagued by terrorism and Naxalism. The poor were not able to get benefits of government schemes," he said.

After 2014, a new look of India can be seen, he added.

Addressing a public meeting in Bidhuna in Auraiya to seek votes for sitting Kannauj MP and BJP candidate Subrat Pathak, Adityanath said Lord Ram played Holi in Ayodhya recently and "such a magnificent event would not have been possible under SP, BSP and Congress governments which questioned the existence of Lord Ram".

Targeting the UPA government, he said terror attacks had become a "routine affair" in the country during its tenure.

"The Samajwadi Party, which backed the UPA government, went to the extent of withdrawing cases against terrorists. In response, the court had rebuked the SP, saying that if they were discussing withdrawal of cases today, they might honour them with Padma Awards tomorrow," the chief minister said.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country is free from terrorism," Adityanath said.