'No processions - religious or otherwise - taken out without permission', says UP CM

|HT|

Everyone in Uttar Pradesh "has the freedom to worship with individual beliefs", chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Monday as he held a key meeting to review the state's affairs. No processions - religious or otherwise - can be taken out without permission, he further insisted. "No Shobha yatra or religious procession should be taken out without due permission. Before permission, an affidavit should be taken from the organiser on maintaining peace and harmony. Permission should be given to only those religious processions, which are traditional. New events should not be given unnecessary permission," a tweet put out by the chief minister's office in Hindi read.

In another post, the chief minister was quoted as saying: "Everyone has the freedom to follow his method of worship. Mics can be used, but make sure that the sound does not come out of the premises. Other people should not be inconvenienced. Do not allow mics at new sites." The UP chief minister's remarks come at a time when several other states are witnessing tensions. Clashes have been reported in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka among other states.

In Delhi, where violence was reported on Hanuman Jayanti, a procession - during which two groups clashed - was taken out without permission, police said on Monday, adding that a case was filed against organisers. Meanwhile, Maharashtra and Karnataka have seen a row over the use of loudspeakers for azaan (Muslim prayers). Maharashtra on Monday said it was in the process of regulating rules.

Earlier, when Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and other states earlier registered violence on Ram Navami, Adityanath had said "there is no place for riots and chaos" in UP.

Uttar Pradesh has a population of 25 crore. There were over 800 processions for the Hindu festival across the state. And along with that, at this time, the holy month of Ramzan is also being observed. There must have been programmes linked to Rozas too."

"But nowhere, was there any tu-tu main (arguments)... leave alone riots and ruckus. This is a proof of UP's new progressive way of thinking. Here, there is no place for riots and chaos. UP has demonstrated this on Ram Navami," he had said.

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