Yogi woos traders, Brahmins: Ayodhya is our top priority

The business community of Ayodhya, where a Ram Temple is being constructed, has expressed their unhappiness with the state government’s plan to widen roads as part of the beautification project of the temple town. In a bid to woo the Brahmins in Ayodhya, Adityanath announced that “most qualified” teachers will be appointed in Sanskrit colleges and schools in the state, and scholarships will be given to the students.

“Those who want to run Sanskrit schools will get grants as well,” the chief minister said as he promised to give tablets and smartphones to Sanskrit school students. “…So that they could connect with technology,” he said.

Adityanath also said that his government would constitute a Purohit Kalyan Board for the welfare of priests and saints.

The BJP is banking on the Brahmin votes in Ayodhya as there is a possibility of the votes getting divided between the BJP and SP, which has fielded a Brahmin candidate. Moreover, the sitting BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta is said to be facing anti-incumbency.

Reminding the people of his government’s top priority to Ayodhya, Adityanath said that he visited the temple town “50 times” in the last five years of his chief ministership, and added that he has come again to ensure that BJP wins all the five Assembly seats in Ayodhya. “Main swayam aaya hoon (I have myself come here),” Adityanath said a day before the campaigning ends for the fifth phase.

Ayodhya will vote on Sunday.   The BJP leader also hit out at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is set to visit the temple town on Friday.

Without naming anyone, Adityanath cautioned people “to beware of Kalnemis”.   Kalnemi was a character in Ramcharitmanas. He was the maternal cousin of demon king Ravana who was assigned to kill Hanuman. However, Hanuman later killed Kalnemi. “Kalnemis keep changing their faces. Don’t trust them,” he said.

In Barabanki and Bahraich, he claimed that the SP government did not provide electricity to people on Holi and Diwali, but there was always power on Eid and Muharram. “But with us (in power), there is no discrimination,” he told an election rally. He asked people if they wanted a “majboor (helpless) government like the previous one led by Yadav or a majboot (strong) government of the BJP”.

“It is up to you to decide what kind of a government you want – a government that creates fear or one that eliminates fear. Whether you want a government that exploits the poor or a government that connects the poor with the schemes of the government,” he added.

—With PTI inputs from  Barabanki &  Bahraich