Yogi Adityanath tells Akhilesh Yadav to apologise before Ayodhya visit
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister said those who fired on karsevaks in 1990 should seek forgiveness before visiting the Ram temple.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that those who fired on Ram devotees and subjected saints to lathicharge should apologise before visiting Ayodhya. He made these remarks while addressing the 10th edition of Deepotsav at Ram Katha Park in Ayodhya, according to reports by Hindustan Times, India Today and Rediff.
The chief minister's comments came after Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Tej Narayan Pandey, also known as Pawan Pandey, announced that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and his wife, Dimple Yadav, would visit the Hanuman Garhi and Ram temples on December 12. Pandey stated the visit is a matter of faith and urged the BJP not to do politics on it.
Without naming Yadav, Adityanath referred to the 1990 firing on karsevaks on October 30 and November 2, which occurred when Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav was the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. The chief minister said those who shed the blood of Ram Bhakts on the streets of Ayodhya should first apologise to the devotees, the seers, and the people of the city.
Adityanath stated that Ayodhya does not belong to any single party or family and that those who insulted the sentiments of Ram Bhakts cannot wash away their sins merely by visiting the temple. He added that the same forces that once opposed the Ram temple movement are now trying to take political mileage from it.
The Deepotsav event was attended by Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan and Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. The Samajwadi Party has previously maintained that the government at that time had to act to maintain law and order.