Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanth was in Mathura on Monday to attend the Krishnotsav programmed organised to celebrate the festival of Janmashtami. He offered his prayers at the Krishna Janmasthan Temple in Mathura and later addressed the people who had gathered at the Ramlila grounds in the city to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who reached Mathura, while addressing the Krishna festival organized at Ram Leela Maidan, said that he was eagerly waiting for this occasion for the last three years. Regarding the birth anniversary of Shri Krishna in Mathura, the CM said he had come to Vrindavan to pray to Bihari Lal to kill the demon of coronavirus just like that he had killed many demons in his life.
In a blistering speech, Yogi Adityanath took a swipe at those who studiously avoided manifesting their Hinduness for the fear of being painted as communal but have now made a beeline to claim Lord Ram and Lord Krishna as their own.
“Those who were earlier afraid to got to temples, due to fear of being labelled as communal, are now saying Lord Ram is mine, Krishna is also mine,” UP CM Yogi Adityanath quipped.
पहले हिन्दुओं के त्योहारों पर बंदिशें लगाई जाती थीं लेकिन अब कोई बंदिश नहीं है… pic.twitter.com/uPt16Hx9ml
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) August 30, 2021
“Earlier, there were restrictions placed on the festivals celebrated by Hindus but now there are now such strictures. Earlier no chief ministers, politicians, MLAs came to celebrate Hindu festivals. If you leave out BJP leaders, the rest of the politicians refrained from visiting programmes on Hindu festivals. Every festival should be celebrated according to the rituals and customs but unfortunately, it wasn’t the case,” Yogi Adityanath said while speaking on how the political class consciously stayed away from participating in the celebrations of Hindu festivals.
पहले हिन्दुओं के त्योहारों पर बंदिशें लगाई जाती थीं लेकिन अब कोई बंदिश नहीं है… pic.twitter.com/uPt16Hx9ml
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) August 30, 2021
He further added, “People were afraid to be seen as participating in the celebrations of Hindu festivals. This abandonment of Hindu festivals continued unabated. No one attended the functions and ceremonies, nor did they partake in the customs and rituals. Instead, Hindus were asked to contend with various kinds of restrictions. In some cases, they were not allowed to celebrate certain festivals. In other cases, they were denied water, electricity or time constraints were imposed on Hindus to regulate the celebrations of their festivals.”
Yogi Adityanath said that there are no such restrictions imposed on Hindus any longer. Hindus can celebrate their festivals with great fanfare as per centuries-old customs and tradition, he added. “This is the change. By protecting and preserving our cultural and religious heritage, we are now ushering in the world of technology-driven development,” he said.
Yogi Adityanath was in Mathura to participate in the three-day Krishnotsav programme that was organised at the Ramlila grounds starting Sunday. The mega event involves multiple programmes that showcase the birth of Lord Krishna, as well as the rich culture and heritage of Mathura, said CEO of Uttar Pradesh Vraj Tirth Vikash Parishad Nagendra Pratap.
