Lucknow, Nov 14 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that Taliban received 'God's punishment' when the US Army bombarded them in Afghanistan.

Referring to the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha by the Taliban, the chief minister said, "You must have seen that just a few days after that, the US dropped bombs there and the Taliban started getting killed. We had said that God is punishing them for what they did to the statue of Gautam Buddha"

The chief minister was speaking at a 'Samajik Pratinidhi Sammelan' in Lucknow on Sunday when he recalled the 'barbarism' of Taliban.

"Buddha never imposed war on the world, he will always be the source of inspiration for humanity and the centre of devotion. But no Indian, or anyone supporting peace and harmony anywhere in the world, should forget the scenes of his statue being destroyed by the Taliban," he said.

Talking about Indian history, he said, "How is history distorted! History did not call Chandragupta Maurya great, whom did it call great? The one who lost from him. They call Alexander the great. The nation has been cheated. But historians are silent on it."

He further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making this nation stand up today. "When we talk of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat', these issues are spoken about," he said.