TMC MP Saket Gokhale on Tuesday hit back at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after the latter accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of giving a free hand to rioters in the name of secularism.
Responding to Yogi Adityanath’s remarks on X, Gokhale stated, “Please speak about the armed mob of ‘shantidoots’ in Agra, supported by your party, who wanted to kill a sitting MP. The situation has become such under your leadership that every other state in India says, ‘Okay, at least things aren’t as bad here as in UP.’”
“Sit down and focus on your own failed government,” he added.
Gokhale’s sharp retort came shortly after Yogi Adityanath, while addressing an event in Hardoi, criticised the West Bengal CM over the Murshidabad violence.
“Bengal is burning. The Chief Minister of the state is silent. She calls rioters ‘shantidoots’. Laaton ke bhoot baaton se kahaan maanne waale hain? But in the name of secularism, these people have given complete liberty to rioters to create unrest. The entire Murshidabad district has been on fire for the past week, but the government remains silent. Such anarchy must be brought under control,” the UP CM said.
He also questioned the silence of opposition parties over the Murshidabad “riots.”
The UP CM further thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for passing the Waqf Amendment Bill, aimed at preventing the loot of property belonging to the poor.
Notably, violent protests against the WAQF (Amendment) bill had been ongoing in Murshidabad since April 8, resulting in the deaths of three individuals and injuries to several others in the violence that erupted in the Suti, Dhulian, Samserganj, and Jangipur areas of Murshidabad district. So far, over 200 people have been arrested for their involvement in the violence.
