We are not oblivious to the bizarre but amusingly controversial statements that we occasionally hear from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Apart from being an active member of the Bhartiya Janata Party and the CM he is also the founder of a youth organization called Hindu Yuva Vahini.
Known for his blunt and outrageous remarks on communal hatred, Hindu Rashtra and extremism, Adityanath certainly does not think twice about the consequences of his statements.
Let us take you through some of his hilarious remarks.
1. 'Coronavirus Can Be Cured by Practicing Yoga'
During the inauguration of a week-long International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh on 1 March, Adityanath said in his speech that Coronavirus can be cured by practicing yoga every day, and those who follow this routine shouldn't be afraid of diseases like Coronavirus. He even mentioned how he is trying to eliminate Japanese encephalitis from Gorakhpur and eastern UP for the past 25 years. This is not the end. The CM also added that flu is not a disease and people develop a cold primarily due to a change in weather.
'People Who Are Against Surya Namaskar Should Jump Into the Sea'
In one of his speeches from the first-ever International Yoga Day celebration, Yogi Adityanath said that those who oppose yoga, Surya Namaskar and Bhagwad Gita are narrow-minded and should jump into the sea. He added to his speech, "Sun is the source of energy for the universe, and whoever thinks sun is communal, I would like to humbly request them to drown themselves in the sea or they should be confined in a black cell."
3. 'Mother Teresa Was Behind the Conspiracy of a Christian India'
In one of his statements at a religious meeting in Basti, Yogi Adityanath targeted Mother Teresa. He accused her of being a part of a conspiracy to Christianize India by converting Hindus. He added, "Hindus were targeted in the name of doing service and then converted by her.” He also claimed that large-scale conversions to Christianity in the North-east had led to a separatist movement in Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
4. When Yogi Compared Shah Rukh Khan to Terrorist Hafiz Saeed
In a remark that led to a major outroar, Yogi Adityanath compared Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan to the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed. He said, "Shah Rukh Khan and terrorist Hafiz Saeed speak the same language." According to him, "Shah Rukh should remember that if a huge mass of people in the country would boycott his films then he would also have to wander on streets like a normal Muslim".
5. Yogi Adityanath's Remarks on 'Biryani and Shaheen Bagh'
During one of his campaign speeches, the Election Commission sent a notice to Yogi Adityanath for his ‘Biryani for Shaheen Bagh’ remark. In his speech, the CM alleged that Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was 'feeding Biryani to Shaheen Bagh protesters.' While addressing a poll rally, he said, “The terrorists are not being fed Biryani today, the Congress had this habit in Kashmir and Kejriwal has the proclivity to feed Biryani over incidents like Shaheen Bagh. It is not a BJP habit.”
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