NYT criticises Yogi Adityanath's appointment as UP CM, India hits back

New Delhi: India on Friday reacted sharply to The New York Times' editorial criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's choice of Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said the US daily's wisdom to write such a piece was "questionable".

"All editorials or opinions are subjective. This case is particularly so. The wisdom in doubting the verdicts of genuine democratic exercises, at home or abroad, is questionable," said Baglay.

In its highly critical editorial, titled 'Mr Modi's Perilous Embrace of Hindu Extremists', the NYT said since he was elected in 2014, PM Narendra Modi has played a "cagey game, appeasing his party's hard-line Hindu base while promoting secular goals of development and economic growth".Modi's Perilous Embrace of Hindu Extremists', the NYT said since he was elected in 2014, PM Narendra Modi has played a "cagey game, appeasing his party's hard-line Hindu base while promoting secular goals of development and economic growth".

“Despite worrying signs that he was willing to humor Hindu extremists, Mr. Modi refrained from overtly approving violence against the nation’s Muslim minority.”

The editorial added that the BJP's move to name “firebrand Hindu cleric, Yogi Adityanath,” as Uttar Pradesh's chief minister is a "shocking rebuke to religious minorities”.

Adityanath as the UP CM indicates “that cold political calculations ahead of national elections in 2019 have led Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party to believe that nothing stands in the way of realizing its long-held dream of transforming a secular republic into a Hindu state.”