LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday issued a sharp warning to protesters following violence in Bareilly over the ‘I Love Mohammad’ campaign a day earlier.
Speaking at a Viksit UP event organised by a media house on September 27, Adityanath said, “If you vandalise in the name of faith, attack pedestrians or the police, we won’t let you go. Chedhoge to chhodenge nahi aur chhodenge nahi to phir chhootoge bhi nahi [If you provoke us, we won’t spare you, and if we don’t spare you, you won’t escape].”
Uddhav’s Strong Words Against Violence
The Chief Minister accused some sections of deliberately disturbing communal harmony whenever Hindu festivals approach. “There are people who dislike peace and development. Every time a Hindu celebration comes near, they get overheated. To cool this heat, we need to resort to denting and painting. Faith is a matter of conscience, not of protests,” he remarked.
His statement came in the wake of clashes outside a mosque in Bareilly’s Kotwali area on Friday after prayers. Protesters carried ‘I Love Mohammad’ posters, reportedly angered by the sudden cancellation of a demonstration called by cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, chief of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council.
Cleric Arrested for Violence
Raza Khan, accused of delivering inflammatory speeches, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly instigating the violence. Adityanath took a direct swipe at him without naming him, saying, “A Maulana forgot who is in power. He thought he could stop the system with threats, but we showed that neither roadblocks nor curfews will be allowed. A lesson will be taught so that future generations never resort to rioting.”
The Chief Minister stressed that his government had ended the pre-2017 trend of curfews and unrest. “We have not allowed a single curfew since 2017. Development in Uttar Pradesh has come by removing such barriers,” he said.
What Sparked the ‘I Love Mohammad’ Row
The controversy first surfaced on September 9 when Kanpur Police registered an FIR against 24 people for installing ‘I Love Mohammad’ banners during an Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession on September 4. Hindu groups opposed it, calling the act a provocation and deviation from tradition.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Dinesh Tripathi told PTI that members of the Muslim community had not only put up the boards but also erected a tent on a public road, near a gate from where the Ram Navami procession usually passes.
The issue soon spread across districts in Uttar Pradesh and reached states like Uttarakhand and Karnataka, triggering protests and police actions. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also weighed in, stating that expressing “I Love Mohammad” should not be considered a crime.