Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the Gaurav Yatra in Surat on Friday. (Express Photo) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the Gaurav Yatra in Surat on Friday. (Express Photo)

TARGETING RAHUL Gandhi over his recent visits to temples in Gujarat, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday claimed the Congress vice-president had little knowledge about Hindu religious customs and that his party does not believe in “Lord Ram or Krishna”.

Addressing the BJP’s Gujarat Gaurav Yatra event at Sachin in Surat, Adityanath said: “Before the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi had visited Vishwanath temple in Kashi. The temple priest told him to sit and he sat in such a position, which appeared like he was going to perform namaz.The priest scolded him, stating this it was a temple and not a mosque… Here for performing puja, one should sit with legs folded. He (Rahul) said, ‘I don’t know how to sit in that posture’.”

“Bhagwan Ram had made Setu Bandh at Rameswaram. NASA believes in its presence, but Congress-led UPA government had taken a decision in 2005 to break the Setu Bandh (for Sethusamudram project).Congress had in its oath letter mentioned that it does not believe that either Ram or Krishna existed… I want to ask a question to Rahul Gandhi, your party says there was no existence of Bhagwan Ram and Bhagwan Krishna, then why you go to Dwarkadheesh temple and bow your head? What is your objective in going to Dwarkadheesh?” he added. Rahul had started the first leg of his Navsarjan Yatra in September with a visit to the Dwarkadheesh temple in Dwarka.

Earlier at a Gaurav Yatra event at Valsad, Adityanath — also the head priest of Gorakhnath Temple — asserted that “if you want to save and secure our sampraday (community), there is only one option and it is BJP”.

He targeted Rahul over his recent roadshows in Gujarat ahead of the Assembly polls, saying wherever he campaigned, his party lost the elections. “Samjho jahan Rahul Gandhi prachar karne ko chale gaye, wahan Congress ki haar pakki,” he said.

“His (Rahul Gandhi’s) ancestors had fought elections from Amethi seat and they remained in power at the Centre, but no development work was done in Amethi, so how he would do development of Gujarat? People who couldn’t build a collectorate in Amethi after ruling there for three generations, what development will they bring to Gujarat?… When Gujarat was hit by natural calamities like floods and earthquakes, Rahul Gandhi was in Italy,” he added.

Accusing Congress of not giving due recogonition to Sardar Patel, Adityanath said: “Sardar Patel had played important role in uniting different states to make a strong nation… Congress had done injustice to him. While Indira Gandhi and (Jawaharlal) Nehru were given highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (when they were alive), Sardar Patel was given Bharat Ratna (in 1991), 41 years after his death.”

Lauding the subsequent BJP governments in Gujarat for bringing development, he said, “Twenty years ago, when BJP was not in power in Gujarat, at that time per capita income was Rs 14,000. Now, under the BJP rule, per capita income is Rs 1 lakh and above. Gujarat has also topped in terms of giving employment. The development model of Gujarat is being followed across the country… even we (in UP) follow it.”

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