Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said the Congress manifesto talked of 'jizya' (tax imposed on non-Muslims in medieval India) and promotion of cow slaughter and likened it to the "cruel rule of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb".
Adityanath also claimed the Congress wants to give minorities all freedom to eat and drink as per their choice and then went on to link it to cow slaughter and beef consumption.
"Are the food habits of minorities different from that of the majority (community? The general food habits are the same but the majority of society does not eat beef and opposes cow slaughter. Now Congress has stooped so low that it will support cow slaughter," UP chief minister alleged.
"This is not the Congress that contributed to the Independence struggle. Will you become a partner in this sin? Will there be cow slaughter in the land of Ram and Krishna?" he asked the crowd. He was addressing a rally in Ashok Nagar town of Guna Lok Sabha constituency in support of BJP candidate and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
He had made similar remarks about 'jizya' and cow slaughter at an election rally in Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
Yogi then went on to accuse the Congress of wanting to snatch the quota benefits of SC, STs and Other Backward Classes to please "its vote bank".
"You have heard the name of a cruel Mughal ruler called Aurangzeb. Decent Muslim families don't name their children after him. He levied jizya. What is it? It is inheritance tax being talked about by the Congress," Adityanath claimed. On the other hand, PM Modi says heritage should be respected as our movement for Ram temple in Ayodhya continued for 500 years and lakhs of Hindus were martyred, Adityanath told the gathering.
"Forget about respect to heritage, the Congress is talking about levying tax on the wealth of your ancestors. Rahul Gandhi says he will X-ray your property and take half of it after his party comes to power and it will be called virasat tax (inheritance tax). Will you ever give jizya? No Indian can accept this," he said.
Attacking the Congress manifesto further, he said that party will try to curtail quota benefits of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs and give it to its vote banks as it had done in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Hailing Modi, the UP CM cited the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the welfare schemes being run by the Centre. "Terrorism and Naxalism were at their peak before 2014. But now Pakistan comes forward with a clarification even if a firecracker bursts in India. This is new India. We are not aggressors but we don't spare those who make a move against us," Adityanath said. The UP CM hailed the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing respect to faith, bringing welfare schemes for the poor and honour to the country.
Adityanath also hailed the Scindias for their fight against the Afghans several centuries ago and recalled the contribution of Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia, grandmother of the Union minister, in the Ram Temple movement and nation building.
Addressing the gathering, Union minister Scindia listed the development works carried out in Guna. He said he had heard about corruption and the presence of the land mafia in Ashok Nagar and warned them of action after the elections. Guna will go to polls on May 7.
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