Yogi Adityanath claims Chandragupta Maurya defeated Alexander, but not called 'Great'

Stirring a controversy, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Sunday claimed that Chandragupta Maurya's legacy had been distorted as he was not credited for defeating Greek conqueror Alexander. Addressing a 'Samajik Pratinidhi Sammelan' in Lucknow, Adityanath claimed that while Alexander was hailed as 'great', Maurya was not termed 'great'. He added that if the truth was revealed, society would stand up and rebel. 

Yogi: 'Chandragupta Maurya not called great'

"How distorted is history! History didn't call Chandragupta Maurya great, whom did it call great? The one who lost from him. They call Alexander, the great. The nation has been cheated. But historians are silent on it," said Adityanath. As per historic archives, after Alexander's sudden death, Emperor Chandragupta Maurya had taken over territories previously ruled by the Greek conqueror.

He added, "Because, if the truth comes out before Indians, society will stand up once again. When society stands up, the nation stands up too. PM Modi is making this nation stand up today. When we talk of 'ek Bharat, shreshth Bharat', these issues are spoken on".

Slamming the Taliban, he said, "You must have seen the scenes when Taliban destroyed the 2,500-year-old statue of Gautam Buddha in Bamiyan, Afghanistan 20 years ago. The world saw the barbarism of Taliban. Buddha never imposed war on the world, he will always be the source of inspiration for humanity and the centre of devotion. But no Indian, or anyone supporting peace & harmony anywhere in the world, should forget the scenes of his statue being destroyed by Taliban."

BJP's community-based campaign

On October 18, Adityanath held a “Prajapati samaj sammelan” in a bid to woo the potter community followed by a 'Yadav samaj samellan'. Targetting several sects like the Brahmins, Yadavs, Dalits, BJP aims to hold 27 such conventions across the state as part of its ‘Samajik Pratinidhi Sammelan’ program. Both BSP and SP have held  'Prabudh Sammelan' to woo the Brahmin community. Both parties have alleged that Dalits and Brahmins are living in fear in the state due to BJP, accusing Yogi Adityanath of favouring only his community - Thakurs. The 403-seat UP assembly where Yogi rules with an iron-clad majority of 314 seats, is up for grabs in February 2022.

With BJP fighting under the leadership of incumbent CM Yogi Adityanath, several fronts have cropped up to challenge the ruling BJP. SP chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav has stated that SP will only ally with smaller political parties for the 2022 Assembly polls, holding talks with Mahan Dal, NCP, SBSP. Mayawati has already announced that her party will fight polls alone in UP and Uttarakhand, while allying only with Akali Dal in Punjab. Congress has aggressively campaigned under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi in the state, eyeing its solo return.