'I have not applied for CM post in Uttar Pradesh', says BJP's Yogi Adityanath

New Delhi: In Uttar Pradesh, activities in the poll-bound state are reaching climax and Bharatiya Janta Party's (BJP) Yogi Adityanath is a big face. However, there are rumours that he is being sidelined by the party. In BJP election Committee, he was not included. ABP News channel has an exclusive interview with the BJP leader. Here's what he said:

• BJP is all geared up for upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election.
• After 14th January, BJP will air its list of candidates.
• Crises in Samajwadi Party is created to hide imperfections of the party.
• In the 14-year of time in the UP, in the ruling of SP-BSP-SP, the state has lost a lot. Industries closed, unemployment increased, farmers committed suicide.
• Anti-social elements have increased in UP.
• The state has turned into one with maximum crimes rates.
• Corruption has increased.
• I have not applied for CM post in UP.

Who is Yogi Adityanath? Mahanth Yogi Adityanath is BJP leader and a priest. He has represented Gorakhpur in the Lok Sabha  since 1998. He is the Mahant or head priest of the Gorakhnath Mutt, a Hindu temple in Gorakhpur, following the death of his spiritual "father," Mahant Avaidyanath in September 2014. Founder of the Hindu Yuva Vahini Mahanth Yogi Adityanath is also the founder of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a social, cultural and nationalist group of youth who seek to provide rightist Hindu platform. Political controversies

• Conversion

Adityanath, in 2005, allegedly led a purification drive which involved the conversion of Christians to Hinduism. In one such instance, reportedly, 1,800 Christians were converted to Hinduism in the town of Etah in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

• Riots and Arrest

In Gorakhpur, in January 2007, an altercation occurred amidst a Hindu and Muslim group during a Muharram procession. It led to the hospitalisation of a young Hindu, Raj Kumar Agrahari who later died. Adityanath travelled to the site with a group of his followers and started a non-violent dharna. However, inflammatory speeches were made. Some of his followers set fire to a nearby mazar (Muslim mausoleum). A curfew was implemented by the police. However, Adityanath broke it and was subsequently jailed under Section 151A, Sections 146, 147, 279, 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). His arrest led to further unrest. Several coaches of the Mumbai bound Mumbai-Gorakhpur Godan Express were burnt, allegedly by protesting Hindu Yuva Vahini activists.The tensions soon escalated to riots across Gorakhpur district leading to the burning of mosques, homes, buses and trains.

• SuryaNamaskar

Yogi Adityanath, in June 9, 2015,  declared that those who oppose SuryaNamaskar (part of Yog) can leave India. 

• Shah Rukh Khan

Adityanath, during the intolerance debate in the media, compared Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed and said, Shah Rukh Khan should remember that majority population of the Country made him the Star, and if they boycott his films, he will also have to wander on streets.

• Pakistan

On 3 January 2016, a day after an assault on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Yogi blamed Pakistan and said Pathankot attack once again proved that Satan could change for the better but Pakistan cannot.