The family of Hindu hardliner Yogi Adityanath, who was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh chief minister on Sunday, has some advice for the first-time CM: steer clear of communal politics.
"I hope he will show respect for all religions," Anand Singh Bisht, Adityanath's father, told The Economic Times. "He should stick to BJP's one liner: Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikash. The slogan accommodates everyone — the poor, rich, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian. Ab jimmedari badi ho gayee hai (The responsibility has got bigger)."
Bisht, a retired range officer with the Uttarakhand forest department, claimed that his son had given up his association with communalism and Hindutva. His family believes that Adityanath would stay away from communal politics. "When I met him recently, I told him that he must steer clear of communal sentiments in his new role. He assured me of that," a maternal uncle told NDTV.
Adityanath, who was born Ajay Singh Bisht in Panchur village (now in Uttarakhand), joined Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the youth wing for the Bharatiya Janata Party, while he was pursuing an undergraduate degree in mathematics.
His father told ET that Adityanath was a "development-oriented" person. Adityanath's younger brother Mahendra too claimed that the 44-year-old CM was not a Hindu hardliner but it was "natural" for him to propagate Hinduism as head priest of the Goraknath temple.
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