"This Election Is Choice Between Ram Bhakts And Ram Drohis": Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday dubbed the Congress-led opposition as "Ram drohis" who stood for "division of the country on religious lines" by promoting "cow slaughter" and granting reservations to Muslims.

The senior BJP leader made the remarks at a rally in Bihar's Begusarai Lok Sabha seat, which Union minister Giriraj Singh seeks to retain.

"The ongoing elections are a choice between Ram bhakts and Ram drohis", said the pontiff of Gorakkshdham shrine, who made the crowd chant "Jo Ram ko laaye hain, hum unko laaye hain".

"I come from the land of Lord Ram. I know that the temple for Ayodhya has a special place in the hearts of people of Bihar, which is the birthplace of Goddess Sita", said Yogi.

Without naming Samajwadi Party, a Congress ally and BJP's principal opponent in UP, he said, "Ram drohis include those who got bullets fired on Ram bhaktis, mourned the deaths of mafia dons".

The allusion was to police firing on 'kar sevaks' in the 1980s when SP founder late Mulayam Singh Yadav was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, besides the killing of Atiq Ahmed in presence of police personnel and death, while in jail, of Mukhtar Ansari.

Blaming RJD-Congress for the lawlessness in Bihar before the NDA assumed power, Yogi alleged, "they have come up with a plan to divide the country on religious lines, by giving reservations to Muslims, betraying the mandate of Baba Saheb Ambedkar".

"Where will our dalits and OBCs go if quotas meant for them are diverted elsewhere", Yogi asked, adding, "the Congress had started the conspiracy while in power by constituting the Sachar committee".

He also alleged that the Congress, in its manifesto, has promised "minorities the right to have food of their choice" and said "Hindus' dietary habits are similar to those of other communities".

"But there is one point of difference. Hindus cannot permit cow slaughter and consumption of its meat. We must oppose those who want to promote these things", said the UP Chief Minister.

He also urged the people to vote for NDA and ensure return to power of Prime Minister Narendra Modi under whose "strong" rule, "cross border terrorism has been wiped out and a tremulous Pakistan ends up distancing itself from every explosion on Indian soil, even if it is a burst of crackers".

"India has entered digital age. Bihar must not allow RJD and Congress to make a regression to the lantern age", said Yogi, referring to the RJD's poll symbol.

"In my state, we will ensure that the NDA win all 80 seats. I hope that Bihar, too, will witness a similar clean sweep", added the UP strongman, nicknamed 'bulldozer baba' in political lexicon, who also paid tributes to legendary Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, who hailed from Begusarai.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)