On Saturday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh presented land ownership certificates to 331 Hindu families who were displaced from Bangladesh. During the event held in Lakhimpur Kheri, he stated, “Bangladesh has turned its back on these individuals, seizing their land and ancestral properties.”
As part of the ceremony, the CM declared that Miyapur village, where these families reside, would be renamed ‘Ravindra Nagar’ in honor of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. He emphasized that no area should be associated with “symbols of subjugation.” Adityanath criticized the Congress party for failing to secure ownership rights for these families after their migration, despite soliciting their votes. He pointed out that the village was named Miyapur to obscure their identity, even though no ‘Miya’ individuals lived there. “Their identity will now be associated with Gurudev Tagore,” he asserted.
The Chief Minister revealed that efforts are underway to allocate ownership of 542 hectares of land to a total of 1,031 displaced Hindu and Sikh families across Lakhimpur Kheri, Gola Gokarnnath, Dhaurahra, and Mohammadi. He noted that approximately 65,000 displaced families from Bangladesh currently reside in the districts of Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Rampur, and Bijnor, and the government is dedicated to ensuring they receive ownership rights.
Adityanath claimed that vulnerable minorities in Bangladesh look to India with hope and trust. He criticized the Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Trinamool Congress (TMC), stating, “The most affected by appeasement politics have been Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians. They did not merely cross borders; they brought with them the burden of broken dreams. India welcomed them without inquiring about their caste, creed, or sect.”
He added, “Initially, 1,031 families settled here, and that number has now increased to over 5,000. They had not been granted land ownership rights until now. When the Modi government enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act, both the Congress and the Samajwadi Party opposed it.”
The Chief Minister contrasted the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which he claimed is celebrated nationally, with the glorification of Muhammad Ali Jinnah by the Samajwadi Party, accusing these parties of weakening social unity through caste divisions. He described their opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act as part of this divisive strategy.
He remarked that religious extremism had devastated the lives of Hindus and Sikhs during the upheavals of 1947 and 1971, and that even after the formation of Bangladesh, the persecution of Hindus persisted, while Congress, the Samajwadi Party, and TMC remained silent on these issues.
Additionally, the Chief Minister announced the withdrawal of criminal cases against members of the Tharu tribal community while distributing land rights certificates to over 4,000 families from the tribe who had migrated to Lakhimpur Kheri from eastern Uttar Pradesh. “The cases registered against the Tharu community by the previous Samajwadi Party government will be retracted. No one will be allowed to oppress you,” he assured.
He further declared that the government would not permit any criminal enterprises to thrive, emphasizing a commitment to protecting the rights of the underprivileged and ensuring job security for the youth.
