Yogi Adityanath as UP chief minister risky for country's unity, says Tariq Anwar

The appointment of Hindutva poster boy Yogi Adityanath as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister will encourage communalism and put the unity and integrity of the country at risk, said senior NCP leader Tariq Anwar on Sunday. 

"It is unfortunate that Yogi Adityanath has become the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. He has a fundamentalist image. His appointment as the CM would encourage communalism and put the unity and integrity of the country at risk," said Anwar in a statement which appeared to be a doomsday prophecy. 

Anwar, a Lok Sabha member from Katihar and former union minister, said the BJP has now showed its true intentions and the type of people it wants to promote by making Adityanath the UP CM. 

"With Adityanath as the UP CM, BJP wants to vitiate the atmosphere of communal harmony by imposing its ideology in the country," he said echoing his party supremo Sharad Pawar's fears. 

Talking to reporters earlier in Ahmedabad, Pawar had apprehended that with Adityanath becoming the UP chief minister, the communal politics would may get a boost. Asked about the opposition alleging that the EVMs were tampered with, he said, "This has now become an issue. Even developed nations have shelved the use of EVMs and have now adopted the ballot paper. The issue should be considered seriously." 

Talking about Bihar politics and projection of Nitish Kumar as prime ministerial candidate, Anwar said the "appropriate time has not come to project him for the top post and his deputy Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate of Bihar." "Lok Sabha elections will be held in 2019. Issuing such statements will be childish. It will depend on the situation and the alliance that takes place," Anwar added.