Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday criticised the demolition of an illegal mosque in Saharanpur and said those who do not respect other religions cannot be considered true Sanatanis.
This comes as the administration demolished the mosque located within the Collectorate complex in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, after the Muslim side’s appeal was rejected by the court.
Speaking to reporters, Yadav said, “Those who do not respect other religions can never be true Sanatanis. They cannot be Sanatanis if they hurt the faith of others. A true Hindu will never insult people of another religion. This is what we have learned from Sanatan Dharma. The concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ teaches us that the entire world is one family.”
He further said, “A true Hindu will never hurt the faith of people belonging to another religion. Why is all this happening? It is happening because they were involved in the alleged theft of money meant for the Ram Temple. Who does not know about this? People are aware of the irregularities, and that is why a communal angle is being given to the issue.”
Yadav also alleged that officials carried out the action under directions from the Uttar Pradesh government.
“These officers acted on the directions of the government as they feared that the other side would get justice,” he said.
Reacting to the Uttar Pradesh government’s proposed initiative to clean the Gomti River, Yadav accused it of misusing public funds.
“They are not cleaning the river; they are cleaning the budget,” he said.
Yadav also questioned the expenditure on infrastructure projects, including the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, alleging financial irregularities.
“Do you know how many crores were spent on the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway? More than Rs 4,000 crore. And imagine, fans were being used to dry the road. Is it not visible how much looting is taking place? Was there no looting in the Ganga Expressway or the Gorakhpur Link Expressway?” he said.
(IANS)
