Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday, 20 July 2026, launched a sharp political attack on the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress, accusing both parties of defining 'secularism' as building cemetery walls while banning Hindu religious processions. The Chief Minister declared that India must discard this version of secularism and build a 'safe India' on the firm ground of Sanatan Dharma.

Context

In his post, CM Yogi wrote — 'सपा-कांग्रेस के समय कब्रिस्तान की बाउंड्री वाल बनाना और कांवड़ यात्रा, रामनवमी की शोभा यात्रा व जन्माष्टमी पर प्रतिबंध ही 'धर्मनिरपेक्षता' का मानक था' — translating to: 'During the SP-Congress era, building cemetery boundary walls and banning Kanwar Yatra, Ram Navami Shobha Yatra, and Janmashtami was the standard of secularism.' He added that India must uproot such secularism and move toward building a secure nation on the foundations of Sanatan Dharma.

The statement is a direct indictment of the governance records of the SP — which ruled Uttar Pradesh most recently from 2012 to 2017 — and the Congress, which has governed at the Centre and in various states over decades. Yogi Adityanath has been Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh since March 2017, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in the state.

Policy Backdrop

The three festivals named in the post — Kanwar Yatra, Ram Navami, and Janmashtami — are among the largest Hindu religious observances in Uttar Pradesh, drawing tens of millions of devotees annually. Restrictions or administrative curbs on processions and gatherings associated with these festivals during previous governments have been a recurring point of political contention in the state.

Since assuming office, CM Yogi has consistently positioned his administration as one that actively facilitates Hindu religious events, citing improved law-and-order arrangements during festivals as a governance achievement. The BJP has long argued that the SP and Congress practised 'appeasement politics' that privileged minority community infrastructure — such as cemetery or kabristan walls — over the religious rights of the Hindu majority.

The phrase 'सनातन की सुदृढ़ भूमि' ('the firm ground of Sanatan') signals a broader ideological framing that the BJP and affiliated organisations have used to argue for a cultural nationalism rooted in Hindu civilisational values, as distinct from what they describe as 'pseudo-secularism.'

Stakeholders and Impact

The post is directed squarely at the political opposition in Uttar Pradesh, particularly the SP led by Akhilesh Yadav, which remains the principal challenger to the BJP in the state. By invoking specific festivals and the cemetery-wall narrative, CM Yogi is reinforcing a political binary that has defined UP electoral contests since at least 2017.

For the BJP's core Hindu voter base, the message reaffirms the party's commitment to cultural and religious identity as a governance principle. For minority communities and secular opposition parties, the framing raises concerns about the conflation of state policy with religious majoritarianism. Civil society voices have periodically flagged that such rhetoric can deepen communal polarisation.

What's Next

Uttar Pradesh is not immediately due for assembly elections — the next state polls are expected in early 2027 — but political positioning in the state is a near-constant exercise given its size and national importance. CM Yogi's post is likely to provoke responses from the SP and Congress, and may intensify the ongoing debate over the meaning and practice of secularism in Indian constitutional politics. The statement also signals that the BJP intends to keep Hindu religious identity at the centre of its political narrative heading into the next electoral cycle.