Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath gave an interview to the BBC on the 3rd of February with elections in Delhi only five days away. The interview revolved around the looming Delhi elections and the speeches made by him in his rallies. Given the history of the BBC, it was only to be expected that the questions will be loaded in some instances.
During the course of the interview, the BBC said, “Recently, you had given a statement that since Modi has become Prime Minister, his government has been giving terrorists bullets instead of biryani.” The Saffron-clad Mahant of Gorakhnath Muth responded, “I have said the right thing. We are not the sort of people who feed biryani. Naa hum Biryani khaate hain aur na khilate hain (Neither do we eat biryani nor do we feed it). I said it because the Congress party and Kejriwal used to do such things and that is why I said that terrorists will get bullets now, not Biryani. Don’t link it to religion.”
In another instance, the BBC asked, “Was it alright to say that people from a certain community are sitting under blankets and put forward their women?” The BBC was referring to Yogi Adityanath’s comment recently when he said, “What a big crime, men are sleeping in their houses under the blankets, and the women are made to sit on the streets.”
Yogi Adityanath clarified, “I said that those who are have put forward their women and children in the name of CAA while sleeping under the blankets themselves, there cannot be greater cowardice than that.” The Chief Minister of UP also mentioned how his government was recovering the cost of the damaged public property from the rioters themselves.
The election campaign in Delhi has reached a feverish pitch with Shaheen Bagh featuring prominently in the political discourse of every party. The BJP has strongly hit back at the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress for their support to the anti-CAA protesters. The prolonged disruption at the national capital has also irked a great many citizens of Delhi.
In the same interview, Yogi Adityanath also said that the Muslims had not done India any favour by choosing to remain here post the partition of the country. The BBC, for its part, appeared consistent in its liberal agenda given the loaded nature of the questions. Time and again, they have peddled narratives that are not conducive to Indian national interests. They also tend to blame nationalism for every malady under the sun including, but not limited to, fake news.
