Bareilly (UP), Oct 13 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said rioters are now observing Urs inside the jail, and they now know they will lose their ancestral wealth for rioting.
Addressing a teachers’ programme in Bareilly, he also highlighted the importance of education, remarking that the identity of any society, state or country is based on its education system.
In an apparent reference to Ittehad-e-Millat Council founder Maulana Tauqeer Raza, Adityanath said, “Sharadiya Navratri is underway. Before 2017, whenever a festival was around, riots would have certainly broken out in Bareilly. But now, rioters are observing Urs inside the jail. Now, if anyone engages in riots, what is the price they pay? They will lose even their ancestral wealth. Uttar Pradesh is now defined by festivals, not nuisances.”
Tauqeer Raza has been jailed in connection with the violence during a rally in Bareilly in September last year.
According to the police, Tauqeer Raza had given a call for Muslims to assemble at Islamiya Inter College after Friday prayers on September 26, 2025, to protest against denial of permission by authorities for a rally in support of the ‘I Love Mohammed’ campaign.
Despite prohibitory orders clamped under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, a large crowd proceeded from Maulana Azad Inter College to Shyamganj Chauraha, holding placards and raising provocative slogans that day. When police personnel tried to stop the rally, the crowd had turned violent.
Speaking at the teachers’ programme, Adityanath said Bareilly, which was earlier associated with “jhumka” (earring), is now known as “Nath Nagari” (City of Shiva), and has regained its “mythological identity”.
On Sambhal, he said, “Sambhal, where people once feared to visit, is now bustling with activity. Fear and terror are no longer present there. Those who used to terrorise others are now themselves terrified. There are many mafia who wet their pants when they see the vehicle of the Uttar Pradesh Police.”
Highlighting the importance of education, the chief minister said, “The identity of any society, state or country is based on its education system. Once, Uttar Pradesh led the country due to its excellence in education. After Independence, education somehow got removed from the government’s agenda, it was ignored. This adversely affected the state’s economy and law and order. By 2017, Uttar Pradesh was facing a crisis of identity. Education system in the state had virtually gone for a toss.”
Adityanath congratulated teachers for not allowing the flame of education to be extinguished and for using their spirit to resurrect Uttar Pradesh.
Pointing to a promise of his party, he said, “We had said that after the formation of our government here, we will conduct cheating-free examinations.”
“If the youth becomes capable, the first credit goes to the teacher. Our teachers are not government employees; they are ‘raashtra nirmaataa’ (builders of the nation) and ‘yug nirmaataa’ (builders of an era),” he said.
Mentioning former President APJ Abdul Kalam, Adityanath said, “Even after becoming the President, he used to present himself as a teacher.
(PTI News)
