Reacting to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s unfortunate to refer to Gyanvapi as a mosque since it is an embodiment of Lord Vishwanath himself remarks, the Samajwadi Party on Saturday said Adityanath is dividing the society for his vested political interest and he does not respect the court.

Speaking to PTI, the Samajwadi Party (SP) spokesperson Abbas Haidar said, “It seems that Adityanath does not give respect to the court. The matter is pending in the court. It is unfortunate that the Chief Minister has taken the oath of the Constitution, but it seems he is not giving due respect to the court.

The Samajwadi Party slammed the Chief Minister over his remark even as the BJP and some saints of Ayodhya rallied around in his support.

“For his vested political interests, he is dividing the society. The mandate given by the public to the BJP also indicates that they have not spoken on issues related to people,” Haidar alleged.

While inaugurating an international seminar on “Contribution of Nath Panth in Building a Harmonious Society” at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University,  Adityanath made these remarks and also highlighted the spiritual significance of Kashi and the revered site of Gyanvapi.

“It is unfortunate that some people refer to Gyanvapi as a mosque while it is the embodiment of Lord Vishwanath himself,” he said, and also made a detailed reference to legendary sage Adi Shankar, narrating an anecdote about his encounter with Lord Vishwanath in Kashi.

The Gyanvapi issue has been at the Centre of a long-drawn legal battle with the Hindu side arguing that the Gyanvapi mosque was allegedly built on the remains of a pre-existing temple, while the Muslim side has contested the claim.

UP BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla told PTI, “Historic, archaeological and spiritual evidence categorically indicate that Gyanvapi is a temple.”

Mahant of Ayodhya’s Hanumangarhi temple Raju Das said, “It is only the unfortunate people who are calling Gyanvapi a mosque. It is itself Vishwanath, and a temple of Kashi Vishwanath. Even if a blind person puts his or her hand over the structure, he or she would get a feeling of all the symbols of ‘Sanatan’.

Asserting that the BJP government will be the only one to restore full statehood status to Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday slammed Opposition saying his government projected new leadership to counter dynastic politics that has destroyed this beautiful region.

“BJP government will also be the one to restore full statehood status to Jammu & Kashmir,” Modi said.

Addressing an election rally in J&K’s Doda, PM Modi retorted sharply at rival parties and said that the upcoming Assembly election in the Union Territory is going to be held between three dynasties and the youth of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The three dynasties of Congress, National Conference and PDP will be standing against the aspirational youth of Jammu and Kashmir,” PM Modi attacked the Opposition.

“Not only this, dynastic politics made this beautiful region hollow from within. The political parties you trusted never cared for your children. They only cared for and projected their children and did not let new leadership grow,” PM Modi added.

Hitting out at Congress, PM Modi reminded the time when the grand old party ruled the country and said, “An undeclared curfew used to be imposed here as the day ended,” adding, “The situation was such that even the Home Minister of the Congress government at the Centre was afraid of going to Lal Chowk.”

“Terrorism is taking its breath in Jammu and Kashmir now,” the Prime Minister said.

Continuing his attack on Opposition, Modi said the youth of Jammu and Kashmir have been suffering from terrorism and the parties promoting ‘pariwarwad’ were having fun by misleading them. “These people have never allowed new leaders to emerge anywhere in J&K. You also know that panchayat elections were not held here after 2000,” he added.

Emphasising the need for better education, PM Modi said he wants every child in Jammu and Kashmir to have access to good education. Over the past few years, the BJP govt has inaugurated various schools and colleges in J&K for the betterment of the youth, adding that the long-standing demand for a medical college in Doda was also fulfilled recently by the BJP govt.

Under the ‘Pandit Premnath Dogra Rozgar Yojana’, Modi promised lakhs of new employment opportunities to be created if the BJP government is formed in the UT. PM Modi added, “The youth going to college here will also be given a travelling allowance. BJP is going to make such a J&K that will be terror-free and will be a paradise for tourists.”

Furthermore, he said people of Ramban district, Doda Kishtwar and Kashmir Valley can reach Delhi directly by train as his government will fulfil “this dream of J&K people. He added that soon the work of the railway line going from Delhi to Srinagar via Ramban will be completed.

During the rally, he also said, “It is our resolve to provide better education and better treatment to the poorest of the poor families. J&K is the state of the country where every family gets free treatment up to Rs 5 lakhs.”

“J&K BJP has announced to provide free treatment up to Rs 7 lakh to every poor family. The eldest woman of the family has also announced to deposit of Rs 18,000 every year in the bank account of the eldest woman of the family. Till now, the farmers of J&K were getting Rs 6,000 under PM Samman Nidhi. Now the BJP has announced to increase it to Rs. 10,000,” PM Modi said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday lashed out at Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader  Rahul Gandhi for his remarks in the US on reservation.

As long as the BJP is there, neither can anyone abolish reservations nor can anyone mess with the nation’s security, Shah said in a social media post on X.

His remarks come after Gandhi, said that the Congress party will think of scrapping reservation when India becomes a fair place, which it is not. The Rae Bareli MP made his comments during an interaction with students and faculty at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, on September 9.   

Hitting out at Gandhi, Shah said standing with forces that conspire to divide the country and making anti-national statements have become a habit for the Congress party and its leader.

“Whether it is supporting the JKNC’s anti-national and anti-reservation agenda in Jammu and Kashmir or making anti-India statements on foreign platforms, Gandhi has always threatened the nation’s security and hurt sentiments,” the senior BJP leader said.  

Gandhi’s statement lays bare the Congress’s politics of causing rifts along the lines of regionalism, religion, and linguistic differences, Shah said.

By speaking about abolishing reservations in the country, Gandhi has once again brought the Congress’s anti-reservation face to the forefront, he retorted at Gandhi.

“The thoughts that were in his mind eventually found their way out as words. I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that as long as the BJP is there, neither can anyone abolish reservations nor can anyone mess with the nation’s security” Shah said.

Earlier during his interaction with the students and faculty at the University, Gandhi said, “When you look at the financial numbers, then tribals get 10 paise out of 100 rupees; Dalits get 5 rupees out of 100 rupees, and OBCs get a similar number. The fact of the matter is that they’re not getting participation.”

“The problem is that 90 per cent of India is not able to play. Go through the list of every single business leader in India. I’ve done it. Show me the tribal name. Show me the Dalit name. Show me the OBC name. Out of the top 200, I think there’s one OBC. They’re 50 per cent of India. But we’re not treating the symptom, he said.