Addressing a rally in Sahibabad on Sunday, BJP MP Yogi Adityanath said that the situation in the western part of Uttar Pradesh is similar to that of the Kashmir Valley on 19 January 1990. Lakhs of Kashmiri Pundits were forced to flee from the Kashmir valley and hundreds of them raped and murdered by Islamic extremists in 1990, he said, adding that he finds a similar situation developing in the region. Ghaziabad MP V K Singh also attended the rally.

“I find western UP unsafe. We do not face a threat in eastern UP because there we use the language that people understand,” Adityanath said. He urged people to "remember the rapes and the riots" when they go to vote.

“Is Kairana not an issue? Is Kashmir not an issue? If this country’s majority, Hindus, are tortured, is it not an issue? But if a thorn pricks the foot of someone from the minority community, it becomes an issue. This politics is strange,” he added.

Adityanath praised US President Donald Trump for standing against Islamic terrorism. “Can the Congress, SP, BSP, RLD try to show such courage”, he asked, later adding that they can’t “because they have turned this into a votebank”. He also applauded Russian President Vladimir Putin for standing up against the demand of special status to the Muslim minority in his country. “Similar action is needed to contain terror activities in this country”, he said.

The founder and chief patron of Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV) will campaign for BJP in Bulandshahr, Dholana (Hapur) and Loni (Ghaziabad) constituencies and is set to hold eight rallies in the region in the initial phase of his campaigning. He also sacked HYV state president Sunil Singh who asked HYV members to contest against BJP candidates.