Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath believes there is nothing wrong in the concept of a Hindu rashtra. “If that rashtra (nation), or raasta (path), helps improve people’s way of life, then we should not hesitate in adopting it,” said Adityanath during his first televised interview as chief minister to Doordarshan on Wednesday.

Adityanath also cited the Supreme Court to defend his statement. The chief minister pointed out that the apex court had also acknowledged Hindutva was a way of life, reported DNA. In a landmark judgment in 1995, the court had defined “Hindutva” or Hindu as “a way of life and not a religion in India”, thus approving the use of the words in election campaigns.

Adityanath went on to add that politics was for “yogis, not bhogis (for those who sacrifice, not those who are greedy)“. The chief minister said there was nothing wrong with being a yogi and added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also a yogi since he had make “sacrifices” for the nation.

The 44-year-old Gorakhpur MP has been the mahant of Gorakhnath temple since 1994. He contested and won the 1998 Lok Sabha election from Gorakhpur at the age of 26. Since then, he has continuously won from the seat, all the way upto the 2014 election.

Over the years, Adityanath has established himself as a firebrand Hindutva leader. His most recent anti-Muslim statement was an endorsement of the United States President Donald Trump’s immigration ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations.

Adityanath’s comments come even as he had filed a defamation notice against National Conference spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu for allegedly spreading hatred against the Bharatiya Janata Party. The legal notice further said that Mattu’s comments were seditious in nature and sought an apology from the party within two weeks.

Describing Adityanath as “anti-Muslim”, the NC leader had said that Adityanath is known for using “intimidation and harassment” as political weapons. “He has openly threatened Muslims of serious consequences and defamed them,” said Mattu.