Lucknow, February 19: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday stoked a controversy with his remarks on deaths of people during protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December last year. While speaking in the state assembly during the Budget session, Yogi Adityanath said If someone is coming to die, how can this person will remain alive. Anti-CAA Protests: UP Minister Kapil Dev Agarwal Refuses to Meet Families of Two Muslim Men Killed in Violence, Says 'Why Should I go to Home of Rioters?'

He also claimed that no one died from police bullets. Adding further, he said that all those who lost their lives during the violence in the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) had died from bullets of rioters. He also appreciated the UP police for their action after the violence during the protests. Anti-CAA Protests: 19 People Dead, UP Police Register Arrest 1,113 People For Violence, Over 9000 Twitter And Facebook Account Taken Down.

Targeting Anti-CAA protesters for raising “azadi-slogans”, the UP CM said that kind of freedom they wanted. Adityanath also clarified that his government was not against the protesters but would not tolerate any kind of violence. Giving a stern warning to people adopting violent means during protests, he said, his government would make them understand in their language.

According to reports over 20, people died in Uttar Pradesh after the anti-CAA protests. Meanwhile, the state government told the Allahabad High Court that FIRs were registered against 883 people for rioting and destroying public properties. Public interest litigations alleging excessive use of police force during anti-CAA protest in UP will be taken up on March 18.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 19, 2020 05:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).