Why should I celebrate Eid, I am a devout Hindu: Yogi Adityanath

Why should I celebrate Eid when I take pride in my own religion, asked UP CM Yogi Adityanath.

After triggering a row with his remark on Holi and Namaz timing, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that he is a devout Hindu and does not celebrate Eid. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongman made the statement of the floor of Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

Targeting Congress president Rahul Gandhi and members of opposition Samajwadi Party, Adityanath said, "I am devout Hindu and don’t celebrate Eid. Why should I celebrate Eid when I take pride in my own religion? I am not one of those who sport sacred thread (Janeu) and at the same time wear cap (Muslim topi) and kneel down to offer prayers,"

He further referred to the victory of the NDA alliance in Tripura, where Left Front had been ruling for 25 years, in the recently concluded Assembly elections. Hitting out at Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, the Chief Minister said that after taking decimating the “red flag”, the BJP would now bring down those in “red caps”, which is worn by members of the Samajwadi Party.

Earlier, Adityanath had triggered a row by saying that the festival of Holi has to be respected by everyone as it falls once in a year while Namaz is offered many times.

Referring to the shifting of Namaz timing on the occasion of Holi, the UP Chief Minister said that he really appreciated that the timings were changed. Adityanath made the statement while addressing a public rally ahead of Phulpur Assembly bypolls, scheduled on March 11.

Ahead of Holi, Imam-e-Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahli, who is also executive committee member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), had appealed to the imams of different mosques, especially those in sensitive areas, to shift the timing of the Friday prayers by 30 minutes to an hour and, in the process, send a message of communal amity.