Adityanath has no moral authority to remain UP CM as ex-judges flagged issue of bulldozing of houses: NCP

PTI, Jun 16, 2022, 4:40 PM IST

The NCP on Thursday said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has lost the moral authority to continue in office after former judges wrote to the CJI to take suo moto cognizance of alleged demolition of properties of protesters in the northern state. NCP chief spokesman Mahesh Tapase said in a statement that retired judges of the Supreme Court, high courts and senior advocates have written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to initiate suo moto action against the Uttar Pradesh government’s clampdown following protests by Muslims over controversial remarks made by former BJP functionaries on Prophet Mohammad.

The UP administration has bulldozed legitimate homes of Muslim protesters, the state police have detained them and the social media is full of videos of the police brutality, he alleged.

”All this is happening in the country’s largest state, which also happens to be the birth place of Lord Ram. The chief minister who calls himself a Yogi has turned a blind eye to the atrocities being unleased by his own administration. Is this the promised Ram Rajya of the BJP?” Tapase asked.

Yogi Adityanath has lost the moral authority to continue in office, he said. In UP, the rights of citizens are being trampled upon at the behest of the state administration. BJP’s intolerance towards Muslims and Dalits is known widely and hence time may not be far when other BJP-ruled states adopt ”harsh, repressive and unconstitutional” means to silence the voice of the minorities, the NCP functionary added. The writing on the wall is clear. BJP leaders are trying to revive the police state as they have scant regard for the Constitution, he claimed.

Tapase urged the civil society to condemn such acts and urge the UP state administration to uphold constitutional values. The letter written to the CJI by former judges of the top court and different high courts, said, ”The letter petition is being presented as an urgent appeal to the Supreme Court of India to take cognisance of the recent incidents of violence and repression by state authorities on citizens of Uttar Pradesh.” It further said that the recent remarks made by certain BJP spokespersons (since suspended from the office) on the Prophet Mohammed have resulted in protests in multiple parts of the country, particularly in UP.

”Instead of giving protesters an opportunity of being heard and engaging in peaceful protests, the UP state administration appears to have sanctioned taking violent action against such individuals. The chief minister has reportedly officially exhorted officials to take such action against those guilty that it sets an example so that no one commits a crime or take the law into their hands in future,” the letter read.