Hindu hard-liner sworn in as leader of India's largest state

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, second right and Yogi Adityanath, in saffron robes, greet with folded hands as Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah, center and others wave to the audience after Adityanath was sworn in as Uttar Pradesh state chief minister in Lucknow, India, Sunday, March 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh) (The Associated Press)

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, watches as Yogi Adityanath, standing right greets Governor Ram Naik, after taking oath as Uttar Pradesh state chief minister in Lucknow, India, Sunday, March 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh) (The Associated Press)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left watches as Yogi Adityanath, standing right takes oath as Uttar Pradesh state chief minister in Lucknow, India, Sunday, March 19, 2017. Administering the oath of office is state Governor Ram Naik, standing left. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh) (The Associated Press)

A hard-line Hindu religious leader has been sworn in as the chief minister of India's most populous state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders of India's ruling party attended a ceremony Sunday in the Uttar Pradesh state capital of Lucknow, where Yogi Adityanath took the oath of office.

Adityanath is a five-time member of Parliament who has offended many in the country with his polarizing statements attacking the Muslim community.

Two deputy chief ministers and 44 other ministers were also sworn in at the ceremony, which comes a week after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide victory in state assembly elections.

Adityanath's anti-Muslim rhetoric has raised concerns among Uttar Pradesh's Muslims, who form nearly a fifth of the state's population.

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