A day before Diwali, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said that in the next karseva, not bullets but flowers will be showered on the devotees of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. Yogi was referring to the firing order issued by Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav who was chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and had ordered the police to open fire on karsevaks and Ram Bhakts in 1990.
Yogi Adityanath hailed the power of people and democracy, saying it is because of them that those who ordered firing on Ram Bhakts are now bowing in front of them.
“31 years ago, bullets were fired at Rambhakts & Karsewaks in Ayodhya. Chanting Jai Shri Ram & voicing support for Ram Temple were considered a crime. But it is power of the people & democracy that those who ordered firing on Rambhakts today bow to your power,” UP mC Yogi Adityanath said while addressing the public during Deepotsav in Ayodhya.
31 years ago, bullets were fired at Rambhakts & Karsewaks in Ayodhya. Chanting Jai Shri Ram & voicing support for Ram Temple were considered a crime. But it is power of the people & democracy that those who ordered firing on Rambhakts today bow to your power: CM Yogi Adityanath pic.twitter.com/i1D3rMWbNV
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 3, 2021
Speaking about the power of democracy, Yogi said if people continued the way they did, those who ordered firing on karsevaks, along with their families will line up for the next karseva.
“Today it appears that if you continue like this, they & their entire family will line up for next Karsewa. When next Karsewa would happen, not bullets but flowers will be showered on devotees of Lord Rama & Lord Krishna. This is power of democracy,” Yogi Adityanath said.
Today it appears that if you continue like this, they & their entire family will line up for next Karsewa. When next Karsewa would happen, not bullets but flowers will be showered on devotees of Lord Rama & Lord Krishna. This is power of democracy: CM Yogi Adityanath in Ayodhya pic.twitter.com/0toEW3lTgH
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 3, 2021
The chief minister had earlier announced that nine lakh earthen lamps will be lit up in Ayodhya to celebrate Diwali. The celebration will be enlightened with a special show of 500 drones that will showcase Ramayan scenes in the sky.
What happened in 1990
On the last week of October in 1990, orders from the powers that be to then IG SMP Sinha were clear. The Mulayam Singh government in Uttar Pradesh reportedly asked him to clear the streets occupied by karsevaks who were peacefully demonstrating to reclaim Ram Janmabhoomi. Sinha told his subordinates: There is a clear instruction from Lucknow that the crowd will not sit on the streets at any cost.
It was 9 am on the auspicious day of Kartik Purnima on October 30, when Hindu saints and thousands of karsevaks, comprising also of women and elderly people, resumed their march towards the Ram Janmabhoomi site where the disputed structure then stood. The security forces, who were instructed to stop the Hindus from reaching the site, lined up on the road to block the way.
In a report published the next day by Jansatta, the number of dead karsevaks was stated to be 40. It had also stated that 60 others were badly wounded in the incident while it could not give the exact number of people who escaped with minor injuries. However, many other news agencies pegged the number of casualties in hundreds.
Police had again fired on Karevaks on November 2, killing and injuring many.
Mulayam Singh Yadav earns the nickname of ‘Mullah Mulayam’ for ordering police to fire on karsevaks
The firing took place on the explicit orders of then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. On the morning of October 30, the police had barricaded about 1.5 km-long pathway to the disputed structure. Ayodhya was in an unprecedented security cordon. Curfew had been imposed. Yet, sadhus and Karsevaks marched towards the structure.
By noon, police received orders from then Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to open fire at the karsevaks. The firing led to chaos and stampede. Police chased down the karsevaks in the streets of Ayodhya.
Another round of clash erupted on November 2, when the karsevaks came back and resumed their march towards the Ram Janmabhoomi site.
Mulayam Singh Yadav earned the sobriquet ‘Mullah Mulayam’ by the Muslim community for issuing orders to fire at karsevaks
