UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also spoke on the Karnataka hijab row. File
The New India will function according to the Constitution, not the Shariat law, and the dream of "Ghazva-e-Hind (ultimate conquest of India)" will never come true, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said in comments that emerged today as round 2 of seven-phase voting in the state took place. Yogi Adityanath also claimed in the interview that his "80 versus 20" comment was meant to differentiate between "those who back progress and those who oppose everything".
"I can say with utter clarity that this is new India, this is the India of world's most popular leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In this new India, development is for all and there will be appeasement of none," Yogi Adityanath told news agency ANI in an interview.
"The new India will work according to the Constitution, and not the Shariat. I also want to say it clearly that the dream of Ghazva-e-Hind will not be fulfilled even till the Qayamat (end of the world)," he said.
Yogi Adityanath repeated his comments in a series of posts this morning. "Those who dream of Gazva-e-Hind, religious fanatics of Talibani thinking, understand this... India will run according to the constitution, not according to Shariat...!" he posted.
The saffron-wearing Chief Minister also spoke on the massive row in Karnataka over hijab restrictions in colleges. "I strongly believe that the system should run as per the Indian Constitution. We cannot impose our personal beliefs, our fundamental rights, our personal likes and dislikes on the country or institutions," he told ANI.
"Am I asking the people and workers in UP to wear saffron? What they want to wear is their choice. But in schools, there should be a dress code. This is the matter of schools and the discipline in schools," he said.
One's personal belief is separate, "but when one talks about institutions, then one has to accept the rules there", he said. In a national context, he added, the constitution should be followed."
The Chief Minister sought to clarify his "80 versus 20" comment that was seen to refer to a Hindu-Muslim divide in votes.
The elections, he said, are a fight between 80 versus 20, where 80 per cent are "those who back progress" while 20 per cent people "oppose everything" and have a negative attitude.
"80 per cent are those people who are happy with the state government's agenda of security, who appreciate the public welfare schemes of the state government. Those who like development. Those who got a chance to get their work (at government offices) done in an honest and transparent way," he said.
"20 per cent are those people who always oppose everything. They opposed everything before and will continue doing so now. They have negative thinking. They back money and crime and will remain so. This is how this election is that of 80 versus 20," he said.
Yogi Adityanath also reacted to AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's comment that wearing the hijab is a fundamental right and that one day a hijab-wearing girl will become Prime Minister.
"It is for the freedom and rights of that every girl (daughter of India) that PM Modi put a stop on the malpractice of Triple Talak. It is for ensuring justice and honour and empowerment of the girl that these decisions are being taken. We can only say that the system will not work as per the Shariat, but will work as per the Constitution. When the system will work according to the constitution, every girl will be protected, honoured and become self-reliant," the Chief Minister said.
Yogi Adityanath defended his comment at the start of the UP election, "warning" voters to choose wisely and vote BJP lest the state turned into a West Bengal or Kerala.
"These people are coming from Bengal and spreading anarchy here. For this, it was necessary to alert people against it saying that 'be alert - the security, respect that you are getting, people have come to disrupt that and do not let that happen'. It was my responsibility to alert people," he said.
The comments comes days after Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited UP to campaign for Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is seen to be the strongest challenger to the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP in UP.
The Chief Minister ripped into Akhilesh Yadav, accusing him of corruption and lawlessness. He said when Akhilesh Yadav was in power (2012-2017), he was too busy sleeping and dreaming to focus on proper utilisation of state funds.
"Akhilesh ji would not have these figures and he did not even want to keep them because he does not have the time. If he gets time from his friends' circle, sleeping and dreaming, then only will he think about these things. To have this information, he would have to hire a person who would mug up these numbers. He is the son of a big figure. He sleeps 12 hours, spends six hours with his friends' circle, and the rest of the time, he would be busy with other work. Thus, he wouldn't have this information," Adityanath said.
The Chief Minister also denied that he was targeting Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and said "they are enough to drown the Congress".
"To drown the Congress, no one else is needed. The brother and sister duo are there. Why do you want to make Congress a burden there; I only appealed to people," Yogi Adiyanath said.
The results of the UP election will be declared on March 10.