CM Yogi Adityanath targets Congress, INDIA bloc ahead of Ghaziabad foot march

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday accused the Congress and the INDIA bloc of attempting to push the country towards "anarchy, instability and disorder", and said he would take part in a 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' foot march in Ghaziabad.

In a statement issued on November 5, Adityanath said the public was repeatedly rejecting the Congress and its allies. He described democracy as a national strength built on public trust, constitutional propriety and respect for the people's mandate.

"The Congress and the INDIA alliance, which are being continuously rejected by the people, are persistently attempting to push India's great democracy into the fire of anarchy, instability and disorder," he said.

The Chief Minister said he would join the Ghaziabad march to convey the message of protecting democracy, respecting constitutional norms and upholding the supremacy of the public mandate.

He also said every Bharatiya Janata Party worker was committed to protecting democratic values and strengthening the country's democratic institutions under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The statement did not provide details about the route, timing or organisers of the foot march.

UP Congress president Aradhana Mishra Mona on Thursday hit back at the BJP for diverting attention from allegations of vote theft and irregularities in electoral rolls by targeting the Opposition. Referring to the BJP's 'Democracy Save Yatra', she questioned why the ruling party was defending the Election Commission instead of responding to concerns over its functioning.

She said the Opposition's November 1 'Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao' rally, led by Rahul Gandhi, had prompted the BJP to take the issue to the streets. Mishra also alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had led to large-scale voter deletions in states including West Bengal and Assam.

In Uttar Pradesh, Mishra cited CM Yogi Adityanath's reported remarks that 1.27 crore voter names had been deleted from the state's electoral rolls, while the Election Commission's post-SIR figures put the voter count at around 13.47 crore. She said the chief minister's concerns over deleted names, including those of young voters and women who had moved to the state after marriage, reinforced the Opposition's questions about the exercise.

Mishra demanded an explanation from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and questioned whether the deletions could affect the number of Assembly seats.