Yogi Adityanath on Friday sought to deflect allegations of hooliganism against kanwariya pilgrims by invoking Muharram processions and claiming they used to feature “violence and arson” before he wielded the iron fist.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister asserted he had had to restrict the height of the tazias because Muslims otherwise demanded the removal of tree branches, eaves of houses and overhead electrical wires to accommodate Muharram processions.

In contrast, he claimed, the kanwar yatras were a study in devotion, unity and fraternity and were being falsely maligned by people who “want to insult Indian traditions”. Kanwariyas have been widely accused of vandalising shops and blocking roads along their pilgrimage routes in the state.

“Muharram was observed (early this month) just before the month of Shravan (which kicked off the month-long Kanwar Yatra from July 11),” Adityanath said in Varanasi while inaugurating a seminar on Birsa Munda, a 19th-century tribal hero and freedom fighter from Chhotanagpur.

He explained why he had restricted the heights of the tazias to 9ft.

“It would have been an injustice to those who pay electricity bills to remove the wires and disrupt power supply to a village or town,” he said.

“You (observers of Muharram) want to organise a procession without paying anything, without paying road tax. You want to break a house that someone built with hard labour. You want to cut the branches of a tree that took 40-50 years to grow. What right have you to do so?”

He continued: “They brought out a huge tazia in Jaunpur. It came in contact with a high-tension wire and three people died. Then they blocked the road (in protest). When the police asked me, I said, ‘Beat them with batons and remove them from there’.

“They understand the language of force and not words. I asked (the police) to act against them because they had built a tazia taller than permitted.”

The electrocutions happened in Sadhanganj village of Jaunpur on July 7.

“We have banned the display of weapons in processions in Uttar Pradesh (swords used to be a feature of Muharram and Ram Navami processions),” Adityanath said.

“Previously, every Muharram procession used to be an occasion for violence and arson. Sisters and daughters were unable to move on the roads. They (Opposition parties) used to remain silent those days.”

Adityanath then lauded the Kanwar Yatra.

“Every class, from labourers to the rich, is associated with this. It’s an amazing symbol of unity. There is no discrimination by caste, region, class or religion. They walk 300-400km with devotion and bring back (the Ganga’s) water,” he said.

“But a media trial is going on against them. They (social media users) malign them. They dare call them (kanwariyas) troublemakers and terrorists. People who have this mindset want to insult Indian traditions.”