Referring to Gautam Buddha as God, Adityanath said Buddha’s teachings had not been contained within the boundaries of the country. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav) Referring to Gautam Buddha as God, Adityanath said Buddha’s teachings had not been contained within the boundaries of the country. (Express photo by Vishal Srivastav)

From teachings of Gautam Buddha to anecdotes on his life to a slew of measures taken by his government, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Friday urged young undergraduate students at Gautam Buddha Nagar University (GBU) to respond to “those who want to malign the image of the country”.

Urging students and faculty of GBU, where he is the Chancellor, the UP CM said, “Those who present a wrong image of India to the world, for those people, Gautam Buddha University should become a centre to prove them wrong. Those who want to malign India in some way or another, our culture and tradition — in some manner or another — GBU should become a centre for giving answers to them. But for this, we have to make our mind positive.”

He was speaking at the commencement of the new session at the university. In his sixth visit to the district since he was elected CM, Adityanath appeared to be making a pitch for the upcoming general elections — listing measures the state had taken to generate employment, promoting innovation by youth and saving state revenue.

Referring to Gautam Buddha as God, Adityanath said Buddha’s teachings had not been contained within the boundaries of the country.

“India has given the freedom of different ways of worship to the world… We cannot limit dharma to a worship form, a pilgrim centre, any community or religion… The spite that we see in the world that an individual has against another, the path to get rid of this feeling leads from this land of Buddha. India has a lot to give to the world… Never did we forcefully attack anyone,” he said during his hour-long address.

He also referred to the three “jewels” of Buddhism and elaborated on his understanding of sangha and dharma: “Our familial, social, national unity — what is an obstacle here? The obstacle in this path is casteism, regionalism, linguistic differences, Naxalism, terrorism. When we rise from these obstacles and work as a team, then Buddha’s second teaching not only keeps us secure, but also inspires us to move forward.”

The UP CM also addressed the issue of migration from the state due to lack of viable employment, and spoke about the ‘One District, One Product’ policy of his government. He claimed that 2.5 lakh jobs had been created in the state in the past year.

“UP has been very fortunate that almost every region, district has some product which is traditionally its expertise. That is why we launched ‘One District, One Product’… Why should youth of UP go to places like Surat, Ludhiana or Mumbai to find work?… Under the scheme, they will certainly find work near their homes,” he said.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.