BIRMINGHAM – The World Economic Forum (WEF) must stop Indian Yogi Adityanath from attending its annual gathering in Davos as allowing his participation will tantamount to legitimizing his terror regime, a Kashmiri diaspora leader said on Wednesday.
“India is pushing Ajay Singh Bisht aka Yogi Adityanath to international stage through the Davos gathering of the WEF so as to whitewash his crimes against humanity which his regime has inflicted on minorities, especially Muslims, in Uttar Pradesh province,” said Fahim Kayani, leader of Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK.
Reminding the WEF management of violent administration that Yogi presides over in India’s largest populated province, Kayani urged the WEF management to cancel forthwith any delegation which includes Yogi from India.
“There can be no double standards on human rights,” Kayani said, reminding the WEF of similar cases where the international community has expressed displeasure.
Counting crimes against humanity committed by Yogi administration in Uttar Pradesh, which is home to India’s largest Muslim population at around 44 million, Kayani said: “Yogi is directly involved in extrajudicial killings, illegal detention of up to 4,500 Muslim dissidents since December 2019, abuse of draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and National Security Act, illegal use of discriminatory legislations including the Citizenship Amendment Act and anti-conversion laws, and policies discriminating against livelihoods of Muslims and other minorities.”
It will be Yogi’s first overseas trip since being elected as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2017.
“The WEF participants must boycott Yogi’s presence and should move to issue condemnation and call for divestment from Uttar Pradesh province,” Kayani said.
“Yogi is one of the most notorious political figures in India, and is known for sowing hatred and division among diverse communities through his violent Hindu supremacist politics,” he added.
Kayani said the policy of Yogi and his racist Hindu radical administration has been “punitive collective punishment against Muslims and other minorities, including through demolition of houses and properties.”
“These grave crimes are reinforced by hate and inflammatory speeches by Adityanath and other senior leaders of his cabinet as well as by influential religious leaders but to date, they go unpunished which is a slap on international community,” Kayani said.