Adityanath Yogi
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| Adityanath Yogi | |
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| Constituency | Gorakhpur |
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| Born | 5 June 1972 Garhwal, Uttarakhand |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Residence | Gorakhpur |
| As of September 22, 2006 Source: [1] |
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Adityanath Yogi (born 5 June 1972) is an Indian religious leader and politician. He is the Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur (Lok Sabha Constituency), elected in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket with a landslide margin 1.5 Lakh votes.[1]
Adityanath is the intended successor of Avedyanath. the current mahant or head priest of the Gorakhnath Mutt, a Hindu temple in Gorakhpur. He is also the founder of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a radical group seeking to provide a more rightist Hindu platform compared to the mainstream Bharatiya Janata Party to which he belongs.
Adityanath has been viewed as a successor to the Gujarat politician Narendra Modi.[2] For several years, Adityanath has been active in converting other religious groups (particularly the low-caste converts of Christianity) back into the folds of Hinduism. In 2005, a large group of 1800 people were converted in the town of Etah in UP.[3] Adityanath is also active in several GorakshA (cow protection) organizations.
Adityanath is also alleged to be involved in the killings of several political opponents, former MLAs Om Prakash Paswan, Virendra Pratap Shahi and Sharda Prasad Rawat[4]. He has been open in accepting this possibility:
- The temple is Ram and whoever opposes it is branded Ravana by the people. A number of Ravanas have already been eliminated and if someone else tries to don the mantle, he too will face the
same fate[4]. After the murder of Paswan in a bomb attack at an election rally in 1996, the police had also even raided the temple premises in search of the assailants. He is also alleged to have issued death threats against other opponents, including the liquor baron and erstwhile minister Jitendra Jaiswal alias Pappu.
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[edit] Gorakhpur Riots January 26-31, 2007
On the eve of the Muharram celebrations planned for 30 January 2007, communal tensions increased in Gorakhpur. On January 28, a Hindu youth was killed, after four others had opened fire on a Muslim religious procession[5]. Curfew was imposed by the district administration, but Adityanath broke curfew and attempted to hold a meeting at the youth's residence on 30 January. He was arrested on the charge of destroying a tomb and other violations, along with 130 others. This led to widespread unrest in Gorakhpur. Several coaches of the Mumbai bound Mumbai-Gorakhpur Godan Express were allegedly burnt by Hindu Yuva Vahini activists on January 30, 2007.[6]
Adityanath was remanded to custody for 14 days due to curfew violation and alleged involvement in the destruction of a Muslim tomb and other riot related offences.[7] At the time of his arrest, District Magistrate Hari Om stated:
- We do not want to give the impression that certain people can hold the city at ransom and do whatever they wish. Maintaining peace is our responsibility and we will do it at all costs.[8]
However, the day after the arrest, District Magistrate Hari Om and police chief (SSP) Raja Srivastava were transferred. This was widely perceived as a result of Adityanath's clout with the Uttar Pradesh government of Mulayam Singh Yadav.[9]
Furthermore, when the new officials, Rakesh Goel and S.K. Bhagat joined duty on January 30, they first paid a visit to Yogi Adityanath in the jail. That day fellow inmate criminal-politician Amarmani Tripathi, had organized a bhajan concert by an outside group within the jail premises.[10]
After Adityanath's release from jail, pending further investigation, the situation in Gorakhpur returned to normalcy.
Subsequently, Adityanath protested his jailing in the parliament, breaking into tears at one point.[11]
[edit] Relations with the Bharatiya Janata Party
With the emergence of a separate powerbase in Eastern Uttar Pradesh (sometimes called Poorvanchal or eastern region), Adityanath has been wielding increasing power, and this has brought him into conflict with the Bharatiya Janata Party to which he belongs.[12]
On December 22-24 2006, Adityanath organized a three day Virat Hindu Mahasammelan at Gorakhpur, during the same period when the BJP was holding its National Executive Meet in Lucknow in the same state.
[edit] Uttar Pradesh elections, 2007
The Uttar Pradesh Elections, 2007 saw a conflict between Adityanath and the BJP leadership - he wanted 35 seats in this region to go to candidates selected by him, but the party leadership would not agree. Subsequently a compromise agreement was reached, possibly with inputs from the RSS[13], and eight of his candidates were fielded[14]. Yogi Adityanath became one of the star campaigners, with BJP providing him with a helicopter for the elections. However, the debacle of BJP in the elections - BJP won only 51 seats, against projections of more than 100 - has led to a weakening of Yogi's status within the BJP[15].
[edit] References
- ^ Official biography from Parliament of India records
- ^ Hindutvaisation of a Gorakhnath Mutt by Subhash Gatade www.sacw.net October 7, 2004
- ^ Adityanath and conversions to Hinduism, Vijay Upadhyay, The Pioneer, October 3, 2005
- ^ a b Sharad Gupta. "Group war peaks in Uttar Pradesh", Indian Express, 1999-09-28.
- ^ Violence hits parts of eastern UP, curfew in Gorakhpur area, Deepak Gidwani DNA Mumbai, January 29, 2007
- ^ Shahira Naim. "Vahini activists set train ablaze", Tribune News Service, 2007-02-02. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ Apoorvanand. "Riot, manufactured in Gorakhpur", Tehelka, 2007-02-17. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ Shahira Naim. "Gorakhpur: DM, SSP removed", Tribune News Service, 2007-01-30. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ Subhashini Ali (2007-02-27). Hindutva's Uncivil Society in Eastern UP: Its time stop the hate spewing yogi of Gorakhpur. SACW.net Communalism Repository. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
- ^ Jailhouse rock for Yogi & Co. Host Amarmani, Hindustan Times, February 1, 2007
- ^ "Monk MP breaks down in tears in parliament", Reuters, 2007-03-12. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
- ^ Atiq Khan. "Yogi's revolt may hit BJP: Ex-BJP leader to go it alone in U.P", The Hindu, 2007-03-28. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ Subhash Gatade. "Political Hindutva : The Countdown Has Begun?", Countercurrents.org, 15 June, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
- ^ Mohua Chatterjee. "Adityanath back in BJP, 8 nominees get tickets", Times of India, 2007-03-30. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ Shekhar Iyer and Vijay Sharma. "Knives sharpened for Rajnath", Hindustan Times, 2007-05-11. Retrieved on 2007-05-12.
