India has questioned the wisdom of The New York Times over its editorial criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s choice of Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. “All editorials or opinions are subjective. This case is particularly so. The wisdom in doubting the verdicts of genuine democratic exercises, at home or abroad, is questionable,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay was quoted as saying by PTI.
Ater the result of Uttar Pradesh election was declared, the NYT published a highly critical editorial, titled ‘Modi’s Perilous Embrace of Hindu Extremists’. The editorial said that since 2014, PM Modi has played a “cagey game, appeasing his party’s hard-line Hindu base while promoting secular goals of development and economic growth”.
The move by Prime Minister Modi’s party to name “firebrand Hindu cleric” Aditya Nath as Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister is a “shocking rebuke” to religious minorities, it said.
The elevation of firebrand Hindutva leader Yogi Adityanath as the Uttar Pradesh CM had shocked many liberal thinkers, political activists, and media across the world. They were hoping that PM Modi would choose a moderate face who would inspire confidence among all communities of the state.
However, PM Modi has a habit of surprising everyone. He did it again by selecting Yogi for the post. The decision seemed controversial as well as dangerous in the beginning. However, in the last five days, Yogi has made all the right moves and issued pro-development statements to gain the trust of all communities.
It is too early to pass a judgment on Yogi’s ability to run the state. But then, he faces a number of difficulties in the state. The biggest one is people’s perception about him as a polarizing figure.
In the first week of his government, Yogi took a number of actions promised in the BJP election manifesto and set the entire administrative machinery of the state into motion. Yogi has ordered a blanket ban on smuggling of cows and their killing. He has asked all government officials not to chew “pan, pan masala or guthka” during office hours. UP police have constituted “anti-Romeo” squads to prevent eve-teasing incident.
Yogi has also ordered officials to work on a plan to ban all slaughterhouses in the state. Some slaughterhouses running illegally have already been shut down in places like Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra and Ghaziabad in the last two days.