Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, responding to the recent Supreme Court decision on Aligarh Muslim University's (AMU) minority status, asserted that AMU "does not exclusively belong to Muslims." He also invoked his controversial "batenge to katenge" (If Hindus are divided, they will be slaughtered) statement, calling for unity among Hindus to prevent historical divisions.
The Supreme Court recently overturned the 1967 Azeez Basha judgement, with a regular bench set to make the final determination on AMU's minority status. "AMU doesn't belong solely to Muslims," Adityanath stated at an election rally in Khair, Aligarh, questioning AMU's plans to reserve 50 per cent of its seats for minorities despite receiving central government funding. "If AMU is funded by the government, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) should also have reservation there," he added.
Adityanath accused opposition parties - Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Congress - of denying reservations at AMU to SCs, STs, and OBCs, alleging that these parties prioritised vote bank politics. "These people are playing with your sentiments. Don't be blinded by them. If we are divided, we will be slaughtered," he said, referring to historical incidents of Hindu oppression through division.
In his address, Adityanath also referenced the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Idgah Mosque in Mathura and the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque disputes, attributing "humiliation" on these issues to Hindu disunity. The Chief Minister highlighted improvements in Uttar Pradesh's law and order since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumed power, crediting his administration for the progress.
Adityanath's remarks were made in Khair, one of nine Uttar Pradesh constituencies facing Assembly bypolls on November 20. The Khair by-poll was triggered when BJP MLA Anoop Valmiki, elected in 2022, won a Lok Sabha seat from Hathras, necessitating his resignation from the Assembly .
