Adityanath Yogi

Infobox_Indian_politician


name = Adityanath Yogi
caption =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1972|6|5|df=y
birth_place = Garhwal, Uttarakhand
residence = Gorakhpur
death_date =
death_place =
constituency = Gorakhpur
office =
salary =
term =
predecessor =
successor =
party = Bharatiya Janata Party
religion =
spouse =
children =
website =
email =
footnotes =
date=September 22
year = 2006 |
source = http://164.100.24.208/ls/lsmember/biodata.asp?mpsno=7

Adityanath Yogi (born 5 June 1972) is an Indian religious leader and politician. He is the Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur (Lok Sabha Constituency), elected in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket with a landslide margin 1.5 Lakh votes. [ [http://164.100.24.208/ls/lsmember/biodata.asp?mpsno=7 Official biography from Parliament of India records] ]

Adityanath is the intended successor of Avedyanath. the current "mahant" or head priest of the
Gorakhnath Mutt, a Hindu temple in Gorakhpur. He is alsothe founder of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a radical group seeking to provide a more rightist Hindu platform compared to themainstream Bharatiya Janata Party to which he belongs.

Adityanath has been viewed as a successor to the Gujarat politician Narendra Modi. [ [http://www.sacw.net/DC/CommunalismCollection/ArticlesArchive/gatade07102004.html Hindutvaisation of a Gorakhnath Mutt by Subhash Gatade www.sacw.net October 7, 2004] ] For several years, Adityanath has been active in converting other religious groups (particularly the low-caste converts of Christianity)back into the folds of Hinduism. In 2005, a large group of 1800 people were converted in the town of Etah in UP. [ [http://www.hvk.org/articles/1005/26.html Adityanath and conversions to Hinduism, Vijay Upadhyay, The Pioneer, October 3, 2005 ] ] Adityanath is also active in several "GorakshA" (cow protection) organizations.

Adityanath is also alleged to be involved inthe killings of several political opponents, former MLAs Om Prakash Paswan, VirendraPratap Shahi and Sharda Prasad Rawatcite news
title = Group war peaks in Uttar Pradesh
author = Sharad Gupta
publisher = Indian Express
url = http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990928/ipo28045.html
date = 1999-09-28] . He has been open in accepting this possibility: :The temple is Ram and whoever opposes it is branded Ravana by the people. A number of Ravanas have already been eliminated and if someone else tries to don the mantle, he too will face the same fate.

After the murder of Paswan in a bomb attack at an election rally in 1996, the police had also even raided the temple premises in search of the assailants. He is also alleged to have issued death threats against other opponents, including the liquor baron and erstwhile minister Jitendra Jaiswal alias Pappu.

Gorakhpur Riots January 26-31, 2007

On the eve of the Muharram celebrations planned for 30 January 2007, communal tensions increased in Gorakhpur. On January 28, a Hindu youth was killed, after four others had opened fire on a Muslim religious procession [ [http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1076780 Violence hits parts of eastern UP, curfew in Gorakhpur area, Deepak Gidwani DNA Mumbai, January 29, 2007] ] .Curfew was imposed by the district administration, but Adityanath broke curfew and attempted to hold a meeting at the youth's residence on 30 January. He was arrested on the charge of destroying a tomb and other violations, along with 130 others. This led to widespread unrest in Gorakhpur. Several coaches of the Mumbai bound Mumbai-Gorakhpur Godan Expresswere allegedly burnt by Hindu Yuva Vahini activists on January 30, 2007. [cite news
title = Vahini activists set train ablaze
author = Shahira Naim
publisher = Tribune News Service
url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070203/nation.htm#3
date = 2007-02-02
accessdate = 2007-04-26]

Adityanath was remanded to custody for 14 days due to curfew violation and alleged involvement in the destruction of a Muslim tomband other riot related offences. [cite news
title = Riot, manufactured in Gorakhpur
author = Apoorvanand
publisher = Tehelka
url = http://www.tehelka.com/story_main26.asp?filename=op170207Riot_manufactured.asp
date = 2007-02-17
accessdate = 2007-04-26] At the time of his arrest, District Magistrate Hari Om stated::We do not want to give the impression that certain people can hold the city at ransom and do whatever they wish. Maintaining peace is our responsibility and we will do it at all costs. [cite news
title = Gorakhpur: DM, SSP removed
author = Shahira Naim
publisher = Tribune News Service
url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070130/main3.htm
date = 2007-01-30
accessdate = 2007-04-26] However, the day after the arrest, District Magistrate Hari Om and police chief (SSP) Raja Srivastava were transferred. This was widely perceived as a result of Adityanath's clout with the Uttar Pradesh government of Mulayam Singh Yadav. [cite web
title = Hindutva's Uncivil Society in Eastern UP: Its time stop the hate spewing yogi of Gorakhpur
author = Subhashini Ali
publisher = SACW.net Communalism Repository
url = http://www.sacw.net/DC/CommunalismCollection/ArticlesArchive/subhashiniFeb07.html
date = 2007-02-27
accessdate = 2007-05-01]

Furthermore, when the new officials, Rakesh Goel and S.K. Bhagat joined duty on January 30, they first paid a visit to Yogi Adityanath in the jail. That day fellow inmate criminal-politician Amarmani Tripathi, had organized a
bhajan concert by an outside group within the jail premises. [ [http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1917874,0015002500000000.htm Jailhouse rock for Yogi & Co. Host Amarmani, Hindustan Times, February 1, 2007] ] After Adityanath's release from jail, pending further investigation, the situation in Gorakhpur returned to normalcy.

Subsequently, Adityanath protested his jailing in the parliament, breaking into tears at one point. [cite news
title = Monk MP breaks down in tears in parliament
publisher = Reuters
url = http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-03-12T171944Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-290671-1.xml
date = 2007-03-12
accessdate = 2007-05-01]

Relations with the Bharatiya Janata Party

With the emergence of a separate powerbase in Eastern Uttar Pradesh (sometimes called "Poorvanchal" or eastern region), Adityanath has been wielding increasing power, and this has brought him into conflict with the Bharatiya Janata Party to which he belongs. [cite news
title = Yogi's revolt may hit BJP: Ex-BJP leader to go it alone in U.P
author = Atiq Khan
publisher = The Hindu
url = http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/28/stories/2007032805111200.htm
date = 2007-03-28
accessdate = 2007-04-26]

On December 22-24 2006, Adityanath organized a three day Virat Hindu Mahasammelan at Gorakhpur, during thesame period when the BJP was holding its National Executive Meetin Lucknow in the same state.

Uttar Pradesh elections, 2007

The Uttar Pradesh Elections, 2007 saw a conflict between Adityanath and the BJP leadership - he wanted 35 seats in this region to go to candidates selected by him, but the party leadership would not agree. Subsequently a compromise agreement was reached, possibly with inputs from the RSS [cite news
title = Political Hindutva : The Countdown Has Begun?
author = Subhash Gatade
publisher = Countercurrents.org
url = http://www.countercurrents.org/gatade150607.htm
date = 2007-06-15
accessdate = 2007-06-19] ,and eight of his candidates were fielded [cite news
title = Adityanath back in BJP, 8 nominees get tickets
author = Mohua Chatterjee
publisher = Times of India
url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Adityanath_back_in_BJP_8_nominees_get_tickets/articleshow/1835543.cms
date = 2007-03-30
accessdate = 2007-04-26] . Yogi Adityanath became one of the star campaigners, with BJP providing him with a helicopter for the elections. However, the debacle of BJP in the elections - BJP won only 51 seats, against projections of more than 100 - has led to a weakening of Yogi's status within the BJP [cite news
title = Knives sharpened for Rajnath
author = Shekhar Iyer and Vijay Sharma
publisher = Hindustan Times
url = http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=d547d04a-fc17-4e6f-9e69-93798c400612&&Headline=Knives+sharpened+for+Rajnath
date = 2007-05-11
accessdate = 2007-05-12] .

References