Yogi Adityanath said if he cannot ask Muslims to stop offering namaz on roads then he has no right to stop celebration of Janmashtami at police stations

Days after coming under criticism for asking state police to organise Krishna Janmashtami in a traditional and grand way, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said if he cannot ask Muslims to stop offering namaz on roads during Eid, he has no right to stop celebration of Janmashtami at police stations, The Indian Express reported.

Adityanath, who was speaking at an event in Lucknow organised by the Prerna Jansanchar Evam Shidh Sansthan and the Lucknow Jansanchar Evam Patrakarita Sansthan, said that he had directed police officials to ensure that microphones are banned during the recent kanwar yatra and no sound emanates from any place of worship, added the report.

“If I cannot put curbs on offering namaz on roads during Eid, then I have no rights to stop Janmashtami celebrations in police stations,” Adityanath was quoted as saying by News18.

Asserting that the rules should be applicable to all sections of society, according to the The Indian Express, Adityanath asked the administration that if a ban could be not enforced on "all other religious places", then the yatra would continue the usual way.

"I asked them to pass an order banning the use of loudspeakers at all places and ensure the order is implemented everywhere. But when the officers expressed their inability to implement the order at all religious places, I told them not to interfere with Kanwar yatra too," Adityanth was quoted as saying by DNA.

On 14 August, at a time when the state was mourning the death of over 60 infants in Gorakhpur, Adityanath had directed preparations for a "grand Krishna Janmashtami celebration".

On 10 July, Adityanath had asked devotees participating in the kanwar yatra not to play "vulgar" film songs. Those participating in the annual pilgrimage should not "show off" during the festive season, he had said in Gorakhpur.

In a communique issued on 13 August to the Director General of Police (DGP) Sulkhan Singh, Adityanath had said, "Krishna Janmashtami is an important festival and the police should organise it in a traditional and grand way."

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had reacted sharply to the missive. "This is ironical (sic), tragic and in some ways reflective of the mindset of powers that be... They will go ahead with their agenda even in the wake of tragedies of such magnitude," AAP spokesman Vaibhav Maheshwari had said.

With inputs from agencies.