Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s recent statement that “Muslims are safe if Hindus are safe” has sparked sharp reactions from the Samajwadi Party, with its leaders accusing the chief minister of indulging in divisive politics.

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Ravidas Mehrotra said, “UP CM Yogi Adityanath should have said people of the state are safe. Today, though no sister and daughter is safe, there is jungle raj by goons in the state… criminals have become fearless, and people are in fear. But, the CM is doing Hindu-Muslim. Samajwadi Party wants the state to be safe. When the Samajwadi Party’s government is formed in UP in 2027, the state will become safer.”

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SP MP Awadhesh Prasad also criticized UP CM’s remarks, asserting, “The truth is that neither Hindus nor Muslims and our daughters are safe in Uttar Pradesh since Yogi baba’s government came to power…”, according to a news agency.

Taking strong exceptions to CM Yogi’s remarks supporting bulldozer action, Prasad said: “Bulldozer has been used to destroy houses of Muslims only, and such action is completely unconstitutional. To hide their shortcomings, they have been raising Hindu-Muslim issues.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman, who recently triggered a massive political row with his remarks on Rana Sanga, said, “Our Ganga–Jamuni culture is being destroyed… Yogi Adityanath should learn that every religion spreads the message of love, not confrontation… Here, who is the one digging old graves?”

During the interview, the UP CM had slammed the Samajwadi Party leader for his remarks on Rana Sanga, saying: “We cannot expect anything from those who glorify Aurangzeb, Babur, and consider Jinnah as their idol… Only these people who know history glorify Jinnah… This is the same breed that worships Babur, Aurangzeb, and Jinnah.”

Adityanath, while responding to a question on AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s remark that “Muslims are in danger”,  had said that “Muslims are not in danger. Their (Asaduddin Owaisi’s) vote bank politics is in danger.”

He further elaborated, “The day Indian Muslims understand their ancestors, these people will have to pack their bags and leave… Indian Muslims will have to remember that they are safe only when Hindus and Hindu tradition are safe… Before 1947, Pakistan and Bangladesh were a part of India. How can we forget the truth? Isn’t there a Hinglaj Mata temple in Pakistan? Isn’t there a temple of Mata Dhakeshwari in Bangladesh?”