‘Mouths sealed with Fevicol on Waqf’: UP CM Yogi targets Congress, Samajwadi Party

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Tuesday hit out at the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP), asking why their “mouths get sealed with Fevicol” when it comes to alleged illegal sale of Waqf land, even as they claim that Hindu faith has been hurt in Ayodhya.

The BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh have been facing sharp criticism over the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple, an issue the Opposition has sought to frame as an assault on the faith of Hindus. Adityanath, whose government ordered an SIT probe into the matter, has repeatedly countered the Opposition by accusing them of Muslim appeasement.

On Tuesday, he alleged that the Congress and SP remained silent on issues such as waqf land “grabbing” while now seeking to corner the BJP over Ayodhya.

Addressing a government event in Pratapgarh district today, the UP CM said, “You must have seen that for the past few days, mischievous attempts have been made by them (Congress and SP) to attack India’s Sanatan system… Remember how the Congress used to say Ram never existed, Krishna never existed? In Ayodhya, the Congress and the SP, who were supporting the… Babri Masjid and shedding crocodile tears for it, today you must be seeing how that same Congress and Samajwadi Party have changed their colours like a chameleon. Now they are saying that faith in Ayodhya is being hurt.”

“First tell us, who is hurting the faith? And since when was your faith associated with Ayodhya? If ‘Rambhakts’ say that our faith is in Ayodhya, they have the right to say so. They, and their ancestors, fought for Ayodhya.”

But he said the Congress and SP have no right to say it.

“The Congress that denied the very existence of Ram, the Samajwadi Party that opened fire on Rambhakts, what faith are they talking about? Those who used to spend money meant for restoration of religious places on the boundary walls of graveyards — what faith are they talking about?”

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Adityanath also alleged that large tracts of Waqf land meant for the poor and weaker sections were illegally sold during earlier regimes. “Thousands of hectares of land were sold in the name of waqf in Uttar Pradesh and across the country. Not once did the Congress or the Samajwadi Party speak.”

“This land belonged to the poor, to the weaker sections. This land could have been allotted in the name of the poor. Convention centres could have been built there. Shops and commercial establishments could have been built for some poor trader from where he could have shown his talent and craftsmanship to the world. Instead, in the name of Waqf, that land was occupied and sold, and a few selected people benefited enormously… Not even once did the Congress or the Samajwadi Party speak,” Yogi alleged.

Referring to the Ram temple case, the CM said the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra had itself sought an SIT probe. “The SIT was constituted to separate truth from falsehood. Based on its preliminary report, an FIR was registered and action has been taken,” he said.

The Chief Minister alleged, “I ask the Congress and the Samajwadi Party — why do your mouths get sealed with Fevicol in the name of Waqf? Why this silence? When money donated by Hindus at religious places was used for boundary walls of graveyards, was faith not hurt then?”

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He further accused Opposition parties of repeatedly hurting Hindu sentiments in the past by imposing restrictions on religious events, banning yatras, and allowing violence during festivals.

“Their problem is not faith. Their pain is that despite all their propaganda, people continue to come to Ayodhya, and today a grand Ram temple stands where they once wanted a symbol of slavery,” the CM said.

In a post on X, SP president Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the BJP’s “politics of religion and money has come to an end”.

The SP chief further alleged that the BJP would now focus only on the “politics of money” as its “politics of religion” had ended, and claimed that corruption and inflation would continue to rise.

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In a swipe at the ruling party, Yadav ended his post with the slogan: “Jo BJP ka saathi, woh Ramghati (Those who are supporting BJP are betraying Lord Ram).”