​​​​​​​BJP spends public funds on temples, Adityanath announces with pride

With the legislative assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh approaching, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has come under fire for its misrule, has come up with its communal card to win public support.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, repeated the communal card played by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017.

Modi had stated that if cemeteries are being constructed in villages, crematoria should also come up, giving an impression that there are no cremation grounds for Hindus, while cemeteries are being constructed for Muslims.

Adityanath took a similar stand on Wednesday by stating that the Bharatiya Janata Party uses public funds for welfare and temples, whereas earlier administration used it to construct boundary walls of ‘kabrastan’ (Muslim cemeteries).

Lack of burial grounds and cemeteries in Uttar Pradesh had been exposed during the second wave of the COVID 19 pandemic.

He said this at a function to mark the fifth Deepotsav celebrations at the Ram Katha Park in Ayodhya, where 12 lakh oil lamps were lit and according to some estimates over 36,000 litres of oil was used to burn the lamps.

The Chief Minister’s reference to the cemeteries by the previous administration was an oblique reference to the Samajwadi Party, which is being portrayed as a pro-Muslim party by the BJP.

Adityanath said that the spending of public funds on temples has been made possible due to the public that voted the BJP to power. He criticised the police firing on the kar sevaks on October 30, 1990 and on November 2, 1990. The firing was to prevent the kar sevaks to attack the Babri Mosque.

“Today the kar sevaks are showered with flowers,” the BJP leader said. He stated that the Ram Mandir will come up in Ayodhya by December 2023.