Politics not my full-time job, says Yogi Adityanath; asks Muslims to learn religious discipline from Hindus

Lucknow :  Yogi Adityanath, the no-nonsense ascetic chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who wears anti-wokeism on his sleeve, has a clear message for Muslims: you will get a fair share of the state's development but don't expect special concessions just because you are a minority.

That means you can't hold namaz on the roads, or do illegal activities. If you do,  be ready to face "Bulldozer justice".

In a sweeping interview with PTI, Adityanath also excoriated Waqf boards, saying they have become a means to appropriate government properties without ever giving anything back to the society, least of all to the Muslim community.

In the interview he also talked about his own growing popularity in the country, his relations with the RSS (of which he was never a member), his rumoured rift with some central leaders, his prime ministerial ambitions, Hindi as a national language and the Congress party's future.

"Politics is not a full-time job for me. Ultimately, I am a Yogi (monk) at heart," he said on his supporters seeing him as a future prime minister.

"There will be a time frame for this as well," he said to a question on how long he sees himself in politics. "I am the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and the party has placed me here to serve the people of the state."

The monk-politician, who has emerged as one of the more popular BJP leaders due to his unapologetic hardline Hindutva views and image of a tough administrator against criminals, rejected criticism of any discrimination against Muslims.

Muslims are 20 per cent of the state's population but their share is 35-40 per cent among the beneficiaries of government welfare schemes, he said, asserting that he does not believe either in discrimination or in appeasement.

Asked about the row over the warning by his administration in Meerut against offering namaz on roads, he staunchly defended the government's move, saying there was nothing wrong in it.

"Roads are meant for walking. And those who are speaking (against the decision) should learn discipline from Hindus. Sixty-six crore people arrived in Prayagraj. There was no robbery, destruction of property, arson, abduction… This is called religious discipline. If you want benefits, you should also follow discipline," he said.

Slamming critics of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, he said Waqf boards have become a den of selfish interests as well as "loot khasot" (property grabbing), and have done little for the welfare of Muslims.

Citing examples of charity in fields like education and health by Hindu temples and mutts, he asked if any Waqf board has done welfare work like this despite having properties many times more. Forget about the entire society, have Waqf properties been used for any welfare of Muslims, he asked.

"It (Waqf) has become a medium to capture any government property. This reform is the need of the hour, and all reforms draw opposition. I believe Muslims will benefit from this (proposed law)," he said.

With his "bulldozer model" now adopted by other states too as a show of quick justice despite frequent questions over its legality, Adityanath told PTI that he did not consider the popular practice as an achievement but a necessity.

The bulldozer can be used to create infrastructure and remove encroachments as well, he said. "It seems to me that we have shown how it can be used in a better way."

He also claimed that the Supreme Court has supported the UP administration's use of bulldozers and never reprimanded it. However, again on Tuesday, the apex court came down heavily on the UP government and Prayagraj administration for demolishing homes without legality. The court also ordered the government to pay compensation.

Explaining his perspective on the intersection of religion and politics, Adityanath said, "We limit religion to a confined space and restrict politics to a handful of people, and that is where the problem arises.

"If politics is driven by self-interest, it will create problems. But if it is for the greater good, it will provide solutions. We have to choose between being part of the problem or the solution, and I believe this is what religion also teaches us."

Asked how he would like to be remembered by future generations, he said "I am living in the present, why do you ask about the future."

On persisting with the question about the legacy he would want to create, Adityanath responded, "It is not the name but the work that should be remembered. One's identity should be through their work, not their name."

He also slammed any politics over language, asserting that the states whose leaders are furthering it are on a gradual decline, and said several languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali or Marathi can become the cornerstone of national unity.

He said the Uttar Pradesh government was teaching languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi to students. "Does this diminish Uttar Pradesh in any way? Does it make UP look small?" he asked.

He, however, did not give details and Congress leader Karti Chidambaram challenged him to provide a list of schools that teach south Indian languages.

The chief minister said everyone believes Hindi should be respected, but India has adopted the three-language formula.

"This three-language formula ensures that regional languages also get the same respect. Every language has its own speciality which becomes the cornerstone of national unity," Adityanath said.

He also talked about the UP economy growing in the last eight years to become the country's second biggest and the state's per capita income having doubled in this period.

The chief minister promised to bring the state's per capita income at par with the national average by 2029-30. He said the state's per capita income was the same as the national average at the time of independence, but it had fallen to one-third level by 2016-17.

On the future of the Congress, he said the party has lost its connection with its origins, strayed from its values and faces an existential crisis as it was headed towards writing its own death certificate.

He said considering the path the Congress has undertaken it stands no chance of growing or flourishing in the country and people are not supporting it anymore.

He also asserted that the NDA will once again win Bihar assembly elections under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national and Nitish Kumar's state leadership.

The chief minister dismissed talks about any differences with the party's central leadership, saying he would not have been in his chair if there were any differences.

On allegations from opposition parties that the actual death figures in the Mahakumbh stampede were concealed, he said that hundreds of people used to die when Kumbh was held during the opposition rule and therefore they were talking about casualties in hundreds this time also.

Asked why he is liked by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) eventhough he is originally not from its fold, he said the RSS likes anyone who is committed to India and it inspires everyone to choose the right path.