UP set example on Ram Navami by "no riots and chaos", says Yogi Adityanath

|HT|

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said the state had set an example on Ram Navami by demonstrating that "there is no place for riots and chaos" in UP. His remarks come at a time when at least six other states witnessed incidents of violence and clashes on Sunday as Ram Navami processions were carried out to mark the Hindu festival. "Day before, Ram Navami was celebrated. 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," the chief minister is heard saying in a video he shared on his Twitter handle. "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 the anniversary of Ram Navami," the 49-year-old BJP leader, who created a record of sorts last month by taking oath for a second term, becoming the first UP chief minister to do so in three decades. Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Karnataka saw violence on Sunday as Ram Navami processions were carried out. In Gujarat, another BJP-ruled state, fresh violence broke out in one of the two-affected cities - Himmatnagar.

Tear gas shells had to be lobbed to disperse a mob, reports said.

Madhya Pradesh has formed a claims tribunal and chief minsiter Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a high-level meeting on Tuesday, a day after he declared that "rioters won't be spared". Dozens have already been arrested over violence in Khargone and another district.

In Bihar, tensions prevailed on Tuesday in the aftermath of violence, which left five people injured on Monday following an argument over the route of a procession in the Aurangabad district.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)