BJP's Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister on Sunday.
Highlights
- Shiv Sena questions choice of Yogi Adityanath for Chief Minister
- Sena says it was not allowed Deputy Chief Minister in Maharashtra
- How come BJP has created 2 Deputies for Yogi Adityanath:Sena
As Yogi Adityanath arrived in
parliament yesterday, excited BJP leaders cheered the new Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister by calling out "
Bharat Mata Ki Jai."
The saffron-robed monk, who emerged as the unlikely choice for leading India's politically most strategic state, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi in parliament, praising him as "a global icon" and pledging to implement his agenda of "
sabka saath, sabka vikas" (development for all).
As he outlined his plans for the progress of his home state in his last speech as a member of parliament (he must be elected to the UP legislature within six months), the Yogi was served some advice from the BJP's perpetually sulking ally, the Shiv Sena.
"Governing a state as large as Uttar Pradesh will not be as easy as governing a mutt," professed the Sena, referring to the Yogi's role as chief priest of the prestigious Gorakhnath temple.
After it placed second in the Maharashtra election in 2014, the Sena agreed to join the BJP as junior partners in a coalition government, but was denied the post of Deputy Chief Minister. Clearly still a sore point: it said today that
Yogi Adityanath, 44, has two
Deputy Chief Ministers to allow him the time "to perform his religious duties".
"Two Deputy Chief Ministers have been appointed in UP, while for Maharashtra, the BJP says appointing a Deputy CM is against their policy," the Sena said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece '
Saamana'.
In an attempt to balance the complicated caste equations in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has installed Keshav Prasad Maurya, an Other Backward Caste leader and Dinesh Sharma, who is a Brahmin, as the Yogi's twin deputies.