Won't attend mosque inauguration, says Yogi; SP asks him to apologise

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party on Friday sought an apology from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his remark that he would not attend the inauguration of the mosque to be built in Ayodhya, replacing the demolished Babri Masjid.

After the bhoomipujan for a Ram temple in Ayodhya, Adityanath had said on television that as a yogi and as a Hindu he couldn't go for the inauguration of a mosque.

Reacting to the remark, the opposition SP said he should seek an apology from the people of the state. When contacted, a UP Congress spokesperson, however, refused to comment on the chief minister's remarks over the mosque.

"If you ask me as a chief minister, I have no problem with any belief, religion or community. If you ask me as a yogi, I will definitely not go because as a Hindu I have the right to express my 'upasanavidhi' (way of worship) and act accordingly," Adityanath had said. "I am neither 'vaadi or prativadi' (petitioner nor respondent). That is why neither will I be invited, nor will I go. I know, I won't be getting any such invitation, he said.

The day they invite me, secularism of many will be in danger. That's why I want that their secularism should not be in danger and I continue to silently work to ensure that everyone benefits from government scheme without any discrimination," he said.