While communal violence marred Ram Navami celebrations across several states, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has claimed that no such incident took place in the state, despite the Hindu festival coinciding with the holy month of Ramzan.
“Ram Navami was just celebrated. A 25-crore population lives in Uttar Pradesh. There were 800 Ram Navami processions across the state and simultaneously, this is the month of Ramzan and many roza iftar programmes must have been on. But there was not even any ‘tu tu main main’ (squabbling) anywhere, forget riots,” Adityanath said at an event in Lucknow on Tuesday.
“This is a symbol of UP’s new development agenda. There is no space for riots, lawlessness or goondagardi anymore,” he said.
The remarks came in context of clashes that broke out during the Ram Navami celebrations on Sunday in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand, which claimed two lives and left several injured.
Incidents of stone pelting and arson were reported on Sunday and Monday in Himmatnagar of Gujarat’s Sabarkantha and clashes broke out between communities in Khambhat and Himmatnagar. A curfew under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is currently in place in Himmatnagar.
In Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone, there was arson and violence after stones were thrown at a Ram Navami procession passing through a Muslim-dominated part of the town. The police have so far arrested 94 people and “illegal” houses and shops of the accused have been bulldozed by the authorities.