New Delhi: Priyanka Vadra, who is usually known for her measured responses, has stepped onto the robes of Yogi Adityanath by giving him a saffron sermon.
Turning him into a mascot of revenge, in view of his warning of a backlash -- ‘I will make each CAA protestor cry’ – Priyanka on Monday reminded him of his saffron robes and what they stood for.
"Yogi-ji wears 'bhagwa' (saffron). It is not his...saffron stands for India’s religious and spiritual tradition. Saffron is a symbol of Hindu dharma and there is no place in it for revenge, violence or enmity. He should follow that religion.’’
It was apparent that Priyanka had stepped into a political minefield with a stinging response manating from the Chief Minister and his deputy.
In a Hindi tweet under hashtag #BhagwameinLok Kalyan (public welfare in saffron), Yogi Adityanath issued another warning of reprisal. The translated tweet read: "Anyone interrupting a san-yasi's incessant efforts at public welfare will be punished.
Those who inherited political space and believe in politics of appeasement, they can't understand the meaning of public service." The CM also explained that he wears saffron robes because they signify public service; also, he is doing so after sacrificing everything. He doesn't only wear saffron but represents it well.
The provocation for the tweet came when Vadra on Monday sent a 14-page missive to UP Governor Anandi-ben Patel, demanding a "full-fledged judicial inquiry" by a retired or sitting High Court judge into the unlawful conduct of the state police during the public demonstrations against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.
Vadra also appealed the Governor for an immediate direction to the UP Police to act within the framework of law. She stressed that over the past two weeks, since the start of the anti-CAA/NRC protests, "the conduct of the UP Police has been observed and reported to be patently unlawful, destructive of the rule of law and repressive of honest citizens."
This is unbecoming of a force that is duty-bound to safeguard and protect the rights of every citizen.
Priyanka wrote in the letter jointly signed by UP Congress President Ajay Kumar Lallu that "following the Chief Minister's shocking and disappointing public declaration that the government will take 'revenge' against the protesters, the administration has failed in its basic responsibility to ensure the rule of law.
"She narrated how the police engaged its ‘friends,’ who are untrained civilians given a 3-day short training, and gave them batons and lathis to assault the protesters; she further claimed that these persons came from the RSS cadre.
Priyanka also accused the government of misquoting the High Court judgment to issue notices of recovery of fines and seizure of properties. She said the High Court verdict was to fix the liability on the political party or a sitting or former legislator or group who had called the protests.
Even otherwise, nobody can be penalised simply at the government's discretion, without identification of the actual perpetrators of the damage, she said.
She also urged the Governor that the students participating in peaceful protests be assured that they will not face academic or legal repercussions and their fundamental right to free expression will be protected and upheld by law and state.
The letter also gives details of the killing of protesters by police at various places, lampooning UP Police chief O P Singh for initially denying any deaths or any police firing, until the TV media exposed his lies with videos.
Vadra's letter come two days after she accused Lucknow cops of manhandling her - they had "grabbed me by the neck" - while en route to visit a retired IPS officer arrested for opposing the Citizenship Act.
But Vadra deftly downplayed her own safety. andhi Vadra dismissed concerns about her own safety. ‘‘My safety isn't a big issue... (It) doesn't deserve security. We are talking about safety of common man, safety of citizens,’’ she said.
UP Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma lost no time in hitting back and declared that Priyanka did not understand the relevance of saffron colour and had disrespected Hinduism by her utterances.
He further claimed that the Congress and other parties were trying to communicate that saffron denotes violent tendencies.
