"Don't mind sharing a stage with Naresh Agarwal", says UP CM Yogi Adityanath

From Ram Mandir agenda to Gorakhpur loss, UP CM Yogi Adityanath talked at length with ABP News in UP Shikhar Sammelan.

Image: Yogi Adityanath at ABP News Shikhar Sammelan

New Delhi: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today promptly faced questions from ABP News in the Uttar Pradesh Shikhar Sammelan on Sunday. On being asked about the entry of Akhilesh Yadav’s former aide Naresh Agrawal, Yogi said that he would not mind sharing the stage with him. Yogi was asked whether the presence of Agrawal on the same stage make him uncomfortable, to which he replied smilingly saying: “Why would his presence make me uncomfortable? If I am doing a programme, then according to the protocol those who can will definitely mark their presence on stage. I would not mind sharing the stage with anyone. I would do my bit and then wrap up for my next destination.” When asked about the debacle in Uttar Pradesh by-polls, he held ‘over-confidence’ as the main reason behind his loss in his stronghold Gorakhpur. He said: “Such results are but natural if any party or person brims with over-confidence, but the by-poll results cannot be held as people’s mandate. This is an immediate lesson for us but I strongly feel that the government’s functioning will yield better results in the days to come and people will give their support to BJP”. He further said: “We have won eight times in a row from Gorakhpur and I can emphatically say that in the next elections, BJP will win again from Gorakhpur.” He also seemed assured of BJP’s victory in upcoming Kerala elections. On being asked about his strategy to counter the ‘bua-bhatija’ coalition in the state, a smiling Yogi said, “We have our plans in place, let them decide the leader of the coalition first.” “Bharatiya Janta Party is the biggest party as of now, it has its own cadre and on the basis of its strong supporters base, the party will again form government after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with a huge majority,” he said. On the Ram Mandir agenda, he said, “it is an issue that deals with the emotions of the nation, government is not a party in this. The matter is in Supreme Court which has already said about day to day hearing on the matter, unimportant petitions have been rejected, we should have faith in the Supreme Court.” He said that the party had promised to find a solution for Ram Janm Bhoomi controversy staying within constitutional limits. He is hopeful of reconstruction of the temple after a positive verdict from the Supreme Court.