Now, Yogi Government takes on the ‘religion’ mafia
Lucknow, 14 March (HS) : The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath may be a strong advocate of Hindutva, but he does not mix the religion with the politics. At least the UP CM’s aggressive stance against mafias operating in the name of religion in the state clearly suggests this. The Government has ordered removal of all encroachments on government land in the form of places of worship cutting across religions following a High Court order in this regard, notwithstanding the fact that the state assembly elections are just a year away.
The High Court had passed similar ruling in the past also, but the then government chose to sat pretty over the issue probably to avoid earning displeasure of the public ahead of elections. The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court in 2016 had asked the government to ensure that no religious structure was allowed to be built on public roads, highways and lanes, but the government led by Akhilesh Yadav hardly did anything. Unlike his predecessor, Yogi Adityanath who is known for his unsparing approach towards mafias of all hues and types has lived up to his name yet again.
He has taken on the religious mafia head on. According to a Home Department order, all such religious constructions that have taken place after January 1, 2011, have to be removed. Besides, those constructed earlier have been given six months time to relocate to the personal properties of those behind these encroachments. It’s no doubt a bold and a laudable step given the fact that such encroachments dot every nook and corner of the country causing a lot of inconveniences to commuters. Such encroachers have a common modus operandi. They put a religious symbol, start collecting funds from commuters as well as public transport staff and then build a religious structure in no time.
Yogi Government has made amply clear time and again that it won’t tolerate hurdles in its development mission in the name of conserving worn out religious beliefs. When some old structures had to be razed to the ground in order to expand the narrow lanes and bylanes as part of the implementation of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor project, some locals did oppose. But, the UP government led by CM Yogi Adityanath moved on in the larger interest of the state and its people and removed some dilapidated structures, says state spokesperson of BJP’s UP unit, Manish Shukla. Today, Kashi is not the same what it looked some years ago and the change is visibly for the better, he added.
Sometimes, leaders have to rise above politics to realise the national goals and Yogi Adityanath always proves that he is capable of doing that, Manish Shukla said.
