'Bullets Will Surely Work': After Anurag Thakur, UP CM Reveals Govt's Method to Deal with Dissenters

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and one of BJP’s star campaigners for the upcoming elections in Delhi Yogi Adityanath on Saturday spoke in favour of using bullets to deal with dissenters.

His remark came on a day when a man fired two rounds in the air at Shaheen Bagh, the epicentre of protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Two days ago, a youth had shot at a student of Jamia Milia Islamia during an anti-CAA agitation near the university.

Only days ago, Union Minister Anurag Thakur had raised ‘shoot the traitors’ slogans at an election rally in Delhi. The UP CM’s approval for the use of guns and bullets to deal with protesters, however, came while referring to those who opposed the annual Kanwar yatra of Shiva’s devotees.

Speaking at a rally on the first day of his campaign in Delhi, Adityanath reportedly said, "We do not obstruct anyone's festival or faith. Let everyone celebrate festivals within the framework of the law. 'Lekin Shiv bhakto par goli chalayega koi vyakti, danga karayega, boli se nahi manega, toh goli se toh maan hi jayega' (If anyone opens fire at devotees of Lord Shiva, causes riots...If they don't listen to talks, they will surely listen to bullets)."

Adityanath also alleged that those who supported terrorists in Kashmir were staging protest in Shaheen Bagh and raising slogans of 'azadi'.

Addressing a series of rallies in the national capital, he said that "their ancestors divided India", so they have a grouse against this emerging 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat', and slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, saying it "supplies biryani" to protesters in Shaheen Bagh.

Meanwhile, the AAP on Sunday demanded the Election Commission to ban the UP CM from campaigning in the national capital over his alleged provocative speeches.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh also demanded an FIR against him for his remarks. Singh told a press conference here that it has been 48 hours since the AAP asked the Election Commission time to meet them but it has not been granted.

"If the EC does not give us time, we will stage a sit-in in front of the ECI office on Monday," Singh said.

On Thursday, the Election Commission banned Thakur and BJP MP Parvesh Verma from campaigning for 72 and 96 hours, respectively, in view of their provocative comments at an election rally in the city earlier this week.

Addressing a rally at Karawal Nagar Chowk in support of BJP candidate Mohan Singh Bisht and Mustafabad's sitting MLA Jagdish Pradhan, Adityanath said the anti-CAA agitation was "against India" and an attempt to "malign the image" of the country.

The UP CM also attacked his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, alleging he and his party were siding with protesters at Shaheen Bagh and that a Pakistan minister and AAP were speaking in similar terms.

"How did it happen? We don't know where all their (AAP's) links are," he said, referring to a tweet on Friday by Pakistan's Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Hussain on Delhi polls.

Kejriwal responded to him on Friday, saying the Delhi election was an internal matter of India and any interference by Pakistan, the biggest sponsor of terrorism, will not be tolerated.

"People of Delhi, you have to decide, whether you want better health, better education facilities, better environment, metro services or whether Delhi needs Shaheen Bagh. I am here to tell you that," Adityanath said, amid chants of 'Yogi, Yogi' and 'Jai Shri Ram'.

Hundreds of people, including women and children, have been protesting in Shaheen Bagh since December 15 against the amended law and the National Register of Citizens. They say the citizenship law is discriminatory and fear it targets Muslims.

During the Assembly poll campaign, BJP leaders have been urging people to vote for the party to show their disapproval for the ongoing anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh.

At a third rally in support of BJP candidate Vijender Gupta in Rohini, Adityanath claimed Mahatma Gandhi had said India should provide citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians fleeing atrocities in Pakistan, and "therefore, it (the citizenship law) should be welcomed".

The UP CM also said that since Narendra Modi became the prime minister, "we have been identifying every terrorist and feeding them 'goli' instead of biryani".

"Let Kashmir remain in peace ... If you will speak the language of Pakistan, in favour of Pakistan, the soldier's gun will show you the way to hell," he said.

At the Karawal Nagar rally, he also said, "The protests (at Shaheen Bagh) have disrupted daily life, we cannot condemn it less," the senior BJP leader said.

"These protests are not about CAA, it is happening because those people are questioning how can India emerge as a major power in the world, and to stop that rising India," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)