NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked Hindu hard-liner Yogi Adityanath, who has been accused of inciting violence against India鈥檚 Muslim minority, to lead its most populous state after his party won a landslide victory last week.
Adityanath鈥檚 appointment to lead Uttar Pradesh was denounced by opposition party members.
But officials of Modi鈥檚 Bharatiya Janata Party said Adityanath, who will take charge on Sunday, was the appropriate leader for the state.
鈥淭his is a watershed moment in the history of BJP,鈥� Venkaiah Naidu, Federal Information & Broadcasting Minister told reporters after BJP officials met in Uttar Pradesh鈥檚 capital Lucknow on Saturday.
鈥淭he mandate is for development, good governance and against caste politics.鈥�
Modi鈥檚 BJP won control of the state a week ago, earning the biggest majority there for any party since 1977, after the Prime Minister pitched himself as a man on the side of the poor.
The win has raised the prospect of Modi鈥檚 re-election in general elections in 2019.
But Manish Tewari, senior leader at the Congress party, tweeted that Adityanath鈥檚 appointment was a 鈥渉arbinger to greater polarization.鈥�
Adityanath, 44, is the head priest of the Gorakhnath Mutt, a Hindu temple in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and a fifth-time lawmaker in the Indian parliament.
He has supported strong laws for cow protection, and also said minority groups that oppose yoga should either leave the country or drown themselves in the sea.
He has also been accused of making inflammatory speeches during the campaign in Uttar Pradesh, where Modi鈥檚 party didn鈥檛 field a single candidate from the minority Muslim population.
Professor Sudha Pai, an expert on Uttar Pradesh politics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, said Adityanath 鈥渋s not a good choice and will not help Modi鈥檚 development agenda.鈥�
Federal Interior minister Rajnath Singh, telecom minister Manoj Sinha and BJP state president Keshav Prasad Maurya had also been seen as contenders for the post of chief minister.
Modi picks Hindu hard-liner to lead India鈥檚 most populous state
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