‘Those Who Wish For Death…’ Yogi Adityanath Sparks Controversy Over CAA Violence

Speaking at the Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow this afternoon, CM Adityanath denied that people had died from bullets fired by the police.

New Delhi: Yet again, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday stirred a huge controversy with his remark in the state assembly on the deaths that accounted during protests in December against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act that spurred violence across the state.

Speaking at the Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow this afternoon, CM Adityanath denied that people had died from bullets fired by the police. “Agar koi marne ke liye aa hi raha hai, to woh zinda kahan se ho jaayega (If someone is deliberately coming to die, then how can that person remain alive),” he said in an hour-long speech.

If someone heads for the streets with the intent to shoot people, then either that person des or the policeman, Adityanath furthered, alleging that the 22 persons killed during the December agitation had died of bullets from the rioters’ gun. “Upadravi, upadravi ki goli se marey hain (the trouble-makers died from bullet of another trouble-maker),” he explained.

Interestingly, his claim does not align with a ground report from Bijnor district of the state where the local police accepted on record that they had opened fire after an anti-CAA protest turned violent. Two protestors had reportedly died in the protest.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) firebrand from Uttar Pradesh has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Centre’s contentious Citizenship law. He has also been repeatedly engulfed in controversies due to his comments surrounding the same.