The choice of Yogi Adityanath as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh is still creating waves in political circles, not least because it appeared to be a surprise. BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, however, told The Hindu , that there was no question that the choice was a unanimous one within the party, and the legislative group.
In an exclusive interview to The Hindu , he denied that the RSS had a hand in the choice and said that in his party (BJP) “these decisions are taken by the parliamentary board, the chief of which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. We strictly follow this parliamentary board system led by the Prime Minister and party chief. The Legislative Assembly then elected him. So where is the question of Yogi Adityanath’s choice as Chief Minister being anything other than a choice made by everyone in agreement?”
He also felt that the new Chief Minister was being judged for controversial utterances that had been “taken out of context” and that his own popularity and public works in Gorakhpur involving all sections of society were being ignored.
“Yogi Aditynathji has been in politics for the last 25 years, has been a five-time MP from Gorakhpur and as the head of the Gorakhnath Peeth also he is a very popular leader. He is someone who was partly instrumental in the landslide victory that the party got in Uttar Pradesh. He is one of the best available leaders for us in U.P. To brand him as hardline face or anti-secular is all very unfair,” he said.
Committed to all sections
“On the question of his controversial statements, I would only say this much that most of the times those who are in the thick of politics, their statements, if you take them out of context, from a one-hour speech if you pull out one sentence, it can appear to be so. But those who know Yogi Adityanathji well they vouch for the fact that he is a hardcore politician, committed to the well-being of all sections of society. His own Math [Gorakhnath peeth in Gorakhpur], besides the temple runs many institutions and social activities, and in all those activities there is no discrimination on the basis of caste, religion or community. Many non-Hindus work in his projects and he has followers from across social categories. This branding of him as a communal or sectarian leader needs to be revisited and is unfair,” he said.
While Mr. Madhav spoke at length on all the reasons why Mr. Adityanath could hold the position of Chief Minister, he refused to comment on whether, in that Constitutional position, he could remain the head of the Gorakhnath Peeth.
“I’m not familiar with the customs and traditions of that Math. That question can only be answered by Yogiji,” he said.
Oppn. attacked
He also accused the Opposition of reductionism when it came to assessing the U.P. mandate. “This one election has shown that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the capacity to raise any election above caste, community and other such parochial identities. The U.P. elections were about electing a corruption-free, development-focussed government,” he said.
