Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath will have to leave the state if the National Register of Citizens was implemented, PTI reported. Yadav termed the NRC “a medium to instill fear”.

“If NRC is implemented in UP, then he [Adityanath] will have to return,” Yadav told reporters in Lucknow. “He is a ‘mool niwaasi’ [resident] of Uttarakhand.”

“NRC is only a medium to indulge in politics of instilling fear,” Yadav added. “Earlier, it was divide and rule, now it is the politics of fear. We have kicked out the divisive forces. Now, we will make the people understand, and these people instilling fear will be out of the government.”

On September 16, Adityanath had said that his government was not averse to implementing the National Register of Citizens in the state in a phased manner. He also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah implementing NRC in Assam. The final NRC list was published in Assam on August 31, comprising over three crore people. However, it excluded around 19 lakh individuals.

Yadav also wondered why there were so many restrictions in Kashmir if the situation in the Valley was normal. “The Bharatiya Janata Party is seeking votes in the name of Pakistan, but it has not allowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fly in its airspace,” Yadav added. “Danger from China is more than Pakistan, and hence, it is necessary to secure the borders.”

The former chief minister wondered why those who registered complaints against Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan were silent for nine years. “Who suddenly exerted pressure on them?” he asked. “This government is in power for two-and-half years. Why were the cases not lodged earlier? Action is being initiated against Azam Khan since he has built the university.” Yadav was referring to the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur.

In August, the Enforcement Directorate registered a money-laundering case against Khan in connection with the land-grabbing cases in Rampur. The case was registered under provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, after the directorate took cognisance of at least 26 first information reports filed by the police against the Samajwadi Party leader.

On September 15, Yadav said that if the Samajwadi Party came to power, it will withdraw the cases filed against Khan.

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