Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has targeted the ruling BJP amid remarks made by his party leader Swami Prasad Maurya against Ramcharitmanas. The former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh said that the BJP considers Dalits and OBCs as Shudras and has a problem with these people visiting temples.
“BJP people consider dalits and backward people as shudras. When these people go to religious places to seek the blessings of gurus and saints, they face problems. BJP people played with our security today, remember, times have changed. Some sort of arrangement will be made.” For them too,” said Akhilesh Yadav.
Meanwhile, SP Legislative Council member Swami Prasad Maurya met party president Akhilesh Yadav yesterday and discussed the caste-based survey. However, it was reported that they also discussed the controversy over Swamy’s commentary on the Hindu epic Ramcharitmanas.
People of BJP consider dalits and backward people as shudras. They have a problem that why we are going to their religious place to seek blessings from gurus and saints.
People of BJP played with our security today, remember, if times change, similar arrangements will be made for them too.
Mr. Akhilesh Yadav, Lucknow pic.twitter.com/AOXyKczyS0— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) January 28, 2023
Maurya told PTI that the meeting was about various issues including speeding up the campaign of caste-based survey. The Samajwadi Party is making a strong demand for a caste-based survey in the state. Yadav had promised to conduct a caste survey in the state if the party was voted to power during the assembly polls last year.
Asked whether there was any talk about his remarks on Shri Ramcharitmanas in the meeting, the former cabinet minister said, “SP President Akhilesh Yadav will answer this as the Leader of the Opposition in the House.” Maurya said that Yadav will present the party’s opinion on Friday in Rajasthan on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declaring Sanatan Dharma as the country’s national religion.
He said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party government is ending the reservation for Dalits, backward and deprived. In such a situation, the SP will come up with a new strategy regarding the demand for caste-based survey.
Maurya created a storm in Uttar Pradesh politics on January 22 when he quoted a couplet from Shri Ramcharitmanas and demanded its ban, calling it derogatory to women and backward classes.