Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Sunday warned that anyone spreading anarchy during the festive season will be made to “pay a price that future generations will remember”.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader made the assertion in the context of violence that broke out in Bareilly on Friday when a crowd carrying “I love Muhammad” posters clashed with police outside a mosque.

“Those who believe even today that creating anarchy is their birthright must shed their illusions,” Adityanath said at an event in Balrampur in which he laid the foundation stone for several projects. “The time is past when the Samajwadi Party or the Congress used to be in power.”

Adityanath further asserted: “Ghazwa-e-Hind will not happen on the soil of India. Even imagining ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ or dreaming about it will lead to a ticket to hell.”

The term Ghazwa-e-Hind refers to a purported aspiration for an Islamic conquest of India, and is often used by Hindutva leaders to target Muslims.

Adityanath said that faith “is not meant to be displayed on public squares, but is a matter of the heart”.

He added: “The hands of little children should hold pens, notebooks, and science and mathematics books. By making them hold ‘I love Muhammad’ posters instead, some people are trying to spread anarchy.”

However, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai alleged that the unrest in connection with the protests was being “sponsored by the government”, ANI reported.

“Everyone loves their religion, as they should,” Rai said. “There is nothing wrong with this. But the government is making it into a sham, using batons, and deliberately allowing crowds to gather.”

Rai further alleged: “They [BJP leaders] deliberately wanted chaos to happen so they could take advantage of it in the Bihar elections.”

In a similar vein, All India Muslim Personal Law Board President Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said that expressing love for Prophet Muhammad neither violates the country’s norms, nor insults any other faith, ANI reported.

“It is every person’s right to express their love for someone,” Rahmani said. “Our Hindu brothers chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Bhavani’, and we’ve never objected to this.”

Row over ‘I love Muhammad’ banners

The row began on September 4, when a group of Muslims held an “I love Muhammad” banner during an Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Hindu groups objected to the banner, claiming that a “new tradition” was being introduced at the procession.

Kanpur Deputy Commissioner of Police Dinesh Tripathi was quoted as saying by India Today that government rules prohibit introducing new customs into religious processions.

The police on September 9 went on to file cases against 24 persons, of whom 15 were unidentified, for allegedly introducing a new custom during the procession and disturbing communal harmony.

On Saturday, the police arrested eight persons, including local Muslim cleric and Ittehad-e-Millat Council chief Tauqeer Raza Khan, in connection with the clashes in Bareilly.

Rahmani, the AIMPLB chief, said that the government’s actions were unjust and contrary to the Constitution, ANI reported. “If the government feels that some people are doing work by going against the law, then they should talk to the Muslim leaders,” he said.

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