CPM issues statement slamming BJP on making Yogi Adityanath UP CM

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) on Sunday issued a notice stating the appointment of firebrand leader Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh was a shocking decision by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"This choice by the Rashtriya Seva Sangh (RSS), executed by its political arm, the BJP, is a deliberate move which bodes ill for the state," the statement said.

"Adityanath is a known Hindutva fanatic who has a record of inciting communal violence having a number of criminal cases pending against him. He also espouses extremely casteist views," the statement added.

"The selection of Adityanath has once again exposed the oft-repeated claim of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that development will be its main agenda. It makes a mockery on his own slogan of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas'."

In the face of this situation, the CPM called upon all democratic and secular forces in UP to unitedly work to ensure the safeguarding of communal amity and the protection of the rights of all sections of people in accordance with the constitutional guarantees.

Adityanath was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh today.

Governor Ram Naik administered the oath of office and secrecy to Adityanath and his Cabinet at a function in Lucknow's Smriti Upvan here.

State BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya and the party's national vice-president Dinesh Sharma were sworn-in as Deputy Chief Ministers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah were in attendance.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, newly-elected Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister R. Singh, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Uma Bharti and Rajnath Singh also attended the ceremony.

Also in attendance was former chief minister of the state Akhilesh Yadav, along with his father and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Adityanath, a five-time Lok Sabha MP from Gorakhpur, was unanimously elected as the BJP Legislature Party leader at a meeting of the newly-elected MLAs in Lucknow last evening. He, later, met the Governor and staked claim to form the government in the state.

In the recently-held polls in the state, the BJP bagged 312 seats, and its allies 13, taking the alliance's tally to 325 in the 403-member Assembly.