Yogi Adityanath reveals how he came up with 'batoge toh katoge' remark

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's slogan "batoge toh katoge" (if you divide, you will be destroyed) sparked a nationwide political debate, prompting several BJP allies to distance themselves from his remarks.

In an exclusive interview to Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader revealed that he gave the slogan ahead of the Haryana election last year.

“I had the opportunity to visit Mathura during the Haryana elections. I was in Mathura at night and in the morning I had the opportunity to unveil the statue of Durgadas Rathore in Agra. In the medieval period, Durgadas Rathore was a very valiant general of the Jodhpur king,” Adityanath said.

The story behind the 'batoge toh katoge' slogan:

“According to the tale, when Aurangzeb could not defeat Maharaja Jaswant Singh, the king of Jodhpur, he made a pact with him. Aurangzeb asked them to attack the Afghanis and assured support from behind. When Jaswant Singh ji went to attack the Afghans, Aurangzeb — instead of helping the king as promised — attacked the Raja by deceit. And Raja Jaswant Singh was martyred in that war," Yogi Adityanath said.

“His son Ajit Singh was with him. The queen was also with him. When General Durgadas Rathore saw that after killing the Raja, Aurangzeb’s army was planning to kill the prince, he took Ajit and the queen, and kept them in an ashram. When Prince Ajit Singh grew up, Durgadas put in all the efforts to make Ajit the king of Jodhpur. Till the age of 91, Durgadas Rathore lived in Jodhpur. After that he took sanyaas and went to Ujjain, where he breathed his last," the CM stated.

He further narrated, "All those who associate with the story, and who belong to the ‘Teli’ caste wanted to install a statue of Durgadas in Agra, but some communities were opposing it. We called both the communities and talked to them. In the end, a compromise was reached. Then when the statue was installed, I said: If you’ll be divided, you will be destroyed. If you remain united, you will be worthier."

When 'Batoge toh katoge' slogan drew criticism

Yogi Adityanath on August 26 last year unveiled the statue of ‘Rashtraveer’ Durgadas Rathore at a prominent junction in Agra. He revealed that it was during this time that he coined the slogan ‘batoge toh katoge’ -- which eventually triggered a significant uproar nationwide, particularly during the Haryana and Maharashtra elections.

Speaking in Agra, Adityanath had then said that the "nation will be empowered only when we stay united" while warning, "if we are divided, we will be destroyed."

The controversial slogan 'batoge toh katoge' created rifts both among BJP allies and within the party, with some members criticising it as inappropriate.

"There is no relevance of this (slogan). Slogans are given at election time. This particular slogan is not in good taste and I don't think people will appreciate it. Personally speaking, I am not in favour of such slogans," BJP leader Ashok Chavan had said.

Ajit Pawar, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and BJP's partner in the Mahayuti alliance, also had voiced his strong disapproval of the slogan, arguing it would not resonate with the people of Maharashtra.