Siddharthnagar (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 14 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that if Narendra Modi had been the Prime Minister at the time of the 1947 Partition, "no one would have been able to harm India", and said the country must learn from the "dark chapters" of its history to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
Speaking at an event in Siddharthnagar after inaugurating and laying foundation stones for development projects, Yogi Adityanath said, "If there had been a Prime Minister like Modi at the time of Partition, no one would have been able to harm India."
He said, "Hindus were massacred in the millions. There was no one to listen, no one to express the pain. Those in power divided the 'Sanatan' nation into pieces. This day serves as an inspiration to learn from those dark chapters of history. Why did this problem arise? Because of which people did it happen? Why were the culprits not punished?"
On the division of territories during Partition, the Chief Minister said, "The country became independent in 1947. Territories that were not even demanded by Pakistan supporters were forcibly handed over to Pakistan. Regions that were Hindu-majority were given to Pakistan. Punjab was handed over. Hindu-majority areas in Bengal were handed over. This was done solely out of the greed for power."
Targeting those he blamed for remaining silent during the period, Yogi said, "Those who were silent in 1947, whose words did not come out, had their eyes on the throne. They were greedy to attain power by any means. Massacres of Hindus took place in Bangladesh, but they remained silent because they were afraid of losing their 'vote bank.' By turning the vote bank into a family asset, these people spread anarchy."
He further said, "At that time, we possessed both strength and intelligence; we did not lack strength. Then what was the deficiency? We were divided by internal conflicts of caste, region, and language. When the country was being attacked, they were silent. When any caste or society was being attacked, they were silent. They partitioned the India of the 'Sanatan' era and broke it into pieces."
Recalling India's freedom struggle, Yogi Adityanath said, "Great men had fought the struggle. The slogan 'Swaraj is my birthright' resonated. But for their own selfishness, they kept people fighting on the basis of region and religion, which continued to weaken the country. India is paying that price to this day."
Linking the consequences of Partition to present-day challenges, he said, "This is the same price that people are paying today in the form of terrorism and conspiracies. Those who gave their lives for the freedom of the country were forgotten."
He added, "Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh used to be parts of an undivided India. Conspiracies were also hatched to set fire to Lucknow, Kanpur, Sambhal, Aligarh, and Saharanpur. But the public did not let them succeed."