NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday addressed the Sambhal violence in the assembly winter session and said, “no one can hide the sun, the moon and the truth for long.”
Asserting that the truth would come out, Adityanath said that no one who tried to disturb the harmony would be spared. He also accused the opposition of turning a blind eye to violence against Hindus in Sambhal.
In the UP assembly, the chief minister strongly countered the opposition’s allegations of the Sambhal and Bahraich violence. He said that all the opposition leaders spoke according to their interests. The figures of NCRB show that from 2017 till now, communal riots in Uttar Pradesh have decreased by 97 to 99 per cent. “What you actually call riots has not happened in Uttar Pradesh since 2017. Before 2017, 815 communal riots took place and 192 people died in it. Between 2007 and 2011, 616 incidents of violence took place and 120 people died,” he said.
The BJP leader added, “If you go to West Uttar Pradesh, you say ‘Ram-Ram’ in general addresses. Then how did Jai Shri Ram become communal? Here, when we wake up, when we meet, we say ‘Ram-Ram’. If someone says ‘Jai Shri Ram’, then you can understand the intention in it. This is not meant to be inflammatory.”
He asserted that even the Puranas say that, “the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu will take place in Sambhal. The survey was conducted on November 19. It was conducted on November 21. The survey work was going on on November 24 as well. There was no disturbance of peace for the first two days. The atmosphere deteriorated after the kind of speeches given before and after the Friday prayers on November 23. Our government has already said that we will form a judicial commission. The truth will come out.”
CM Yogi noted that the history of communal unrest in Sambhal dates back to 1947. “Riots started in Sambhal from 1947 itself. One person was killed in 1947, six more in 1948. Between 1958 and 1962, several riots took place, and five people were killed in 1976. In 1978, 184 Hindus were burnt alive in mass violence, leading to curfews lasting several months. Riots continued into the 1980s, which claimed more lives — one in 1980, one in 1982, and four in 1986. Violence persisted in 1990-1992, with five deaths, and in 1996, with two more deaths,” he said.
“Since 1947, 209 Hindus have been killed in Sambhal, but not a single word was spoken for the innocent victims. Those shedding crocodile tears today never stood for justice back then,” he accused the opposition of remaining silent during these incidents.
CM Yogi Adityanath also criticised opposition parties for attempting to create tension over religious matters in the state including Sambhal.