Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday launched attack on the Congress party and its manifesto saying that it talks of 'jizya' (tax imposed on non-Muslims in mediaeval India) and promotion of cow slaughter and compared it to the "cruel rule of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb".
"You have heard the name of a cruel Mughal ruler called Aurangzeb. Decent Muslim families don't name their children after him. He levied jizya. What is it? It is inheritance tax being talked about by the Congress," Adityanath claimed. He said that on the other hand PM Modi says heritage should be respected as our movement for Ram Mandir in Ayodhya continued for five hundred years in which lakhs of Hindus were martyred.
He went on and said, "Forget about respect to heritage, the Congress is talking about levying tax on the wealth of your ancestors. Rahul Gandhi says he will X-ray your property and take half of it after his party comes to power and it will be called virasat tax (inheritance tax). Will you ever give jizya? No Indian can accept this".
What is Jizya tax?
Jizya is a tax which was imposed on non-Muslims during the Islamic rule during medieval times in India. It was a tax paid by non-Muslims for getting protection by the Muslim ruler. Jizya finds its mention in Quran and was first imosed in India by Qutabuddin Aibak. In 1679 Aurangzeb reintroduced the jizya tax, that had been abolished by Akbar a century earlier.
'Congress will try to curtail reservation', says UP CM
Attacking the Congress manifesto further, he said that the party will try to curtail reservation benefits of the SC, ST and OBCs and give it to its vote banks as it had done in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Notably, Yogi Adityanath was referring to the decision of Karnataka’s Congress government, which included all the communities of Muslims into the OBC category.
Earlier, Congress was hinting that the BJP is seeking 400 seats to change the constitution and scrap the reservation. Now, the UP CM has accused Congress of the same. Yogi also claimed that the Congress wants to give all types of freedom to minorities to eat and drink, linking it to cow slaughter and beef consumption.
"Are the food habits of minorities different from that of the majority (community? The general food habits are the same but the majority of society does not eat beef and opposes cow slaughter.
Now Congress has stooped so low that it will support cow slaughter," UP chief minister alleged.
"This is not the Congress that contributed to the Independence struggle. Will you become a partner in this sin? Will there be cow slaughter in the land of Ram and Krishna?" he asked the crowd. Hailing PM Modi and his government, the UP CM cited the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the welfare schemes.
Jyotiraditya Scindia contesting from Guna Lok Sabha
He also talked about the reduction in the terrorism incidents saying, "Terrorism and Naxalism were at their peak before 2014. But now Pakistan comes forward with a clarification even if a firecracker bursts in India. This is new India. We are not aggressors but we don't spare those who make a move against us".
Union Minister and senior BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia is contesting from Guna Lok Sabha seat which will go to polls in the third phase on May 7. On the other hand, Congress has fielded Rao Yadavendra Singh Yadav, who joined Congress after leaving BJP in 2023. Adityanath hailed the Scindias for their fight against the Afghans several centuries ago and recalled the contribution of Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia, grandmother of the Union minister, in the Ram Temple movement and nation building.
(With PTI Inputs)
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