Yogi Adityanath Warns Waqf Boards Ahead of Maha Kumbh 2025: ‘No Denting-Painting’

Yogi Adityanath Warns Waqf Boards Ahead of Maha Kumbh 2025: Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh's chief minister, issued a controversial warning on Friday to the Waqf Board that if it welcomed "claimants of lands" for offering Maha Kumbh, then they would be insulted with "denting-painting".

Speaking at an Aaj Tak event, Adityanath said, “Anyone who respects Indian traditions is welcome. Many people had ancestors who converted to Islam under pressure in the past, yet they still take pride in Indian traditions.”

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“If such people, following traditions, come to take a dip in the Ganga, there is no problem. But if someone comes with the intention of claiming the land, they might face denting-painting,” the chief minister told the TV channel.

Angry remarks of Yogi Adityanath came after All India Muslim Jammat (AIMJ) president Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi's speech claiming that the venue of Maha Kumbh 2025 was Waqf land and entry of Muslims has been banned.

“The land where preparations are being made for Kumbh Mela belongs to Waqf - 54 bighas. Muslims showed a big heart and did not raise any objection but on the other hand, Akhada Parishad and other Babas are banning the entry of Muslims. This narrow-mindedness will have to be given up, we will have to show a big heart like Muslims,” Barelvi had said in a post on X.

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'No discrimination during Maha Kumbh': Yogi Adityanath

Adityanath also made it clear that this would not be "discrimination of any kind" during the Maha Kumbh, an event beginning on January 13.

But import both herein, so much that he would not keep under wraps an attack directed in Waqf Board, saying his government would "reclaim every inch of land that had been taken under the pretext of waqf".

"The Kumbh has been a symbol of India's heritage for thousands of years and has always taken place here. It is not the Waqf Board but a board of land mafias," he was quoted as saying.

Maha Kumbh, the largest spiritual congregation in the world, is being observed after 12 years and a large number of devotees are expected to visit Prayagraj from January13 to February 26.

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