NEW DELHI: A day after heated debate over former Union minister Anurag Thakur‘s caste remark in Parliament, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, without directly naming the Bharatiya Janata Party, Yadav accused them of caste-based discrimination.
While addressing the reporters, Akhilesh recalled instances and alleged that he faced opposition and discrimination from certain societal forces due to his caste identity.
“This issue of caste is not a new one; it is very old. I don’t want to delve into those matters. You are our colleagues who keep an eye on everything. There was a time in the Uttar Pradesh assembly when there was a lot of discussion regarding a certain matter. I remember when I went to visit a temple, there were some forces in society that did not want me to perform rituals,” he said.
“I urge you to try to understand who these forces in society are that were stopping someone from performing rituals at that time,” he added.
The Samajwadi Party leader also referred to an incident where BJP workers cleaned the Gauri Shanker Mahadev Mandir in Kannauj with Gangajal after his visit.
“I can never forget the day when the chief minister’s residence was washed with Ganga water. Can any aware, sensible person explain to me how a Chief Minister’s house can be cleaned with Ganga water? During the Lok Sabha elections in Mainpuri, I saw that many people had washed a statue. Even if I forget all these things for a moment, after that, I went to a temple in Kannauj where I had gone for the first time after winning the election, and the temple was washed after my visit,” he said.
Yadav criticized BJP MP Anurag Thakur for his caste-related remarks directed at Rahul Gandhi during a Union Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha. Yadav suggested that Thakur was instructed to make such comments to secure a ministerial position. Gandhi accused Thakur of insulting and abusing him during the debate but stated that he would not demand an apology.
“The member is a senior face of a big party, he has been a minister. Lots of issues have been raised in the House, we have spoken about Mahabharata, too, here, but I have a question .. How can you ask anybody’s caste?” the Samajwadi Party chief had said in the Parliament.
While addressing the reporters, Akhilesh recalled instances and alleged that he faced opposition and discrimination from certain societal forces due to his caste identity.
“This issue of caste is not a new one; it is very old. I don’t want to delve into those matters. You are our colleagues who keep an eye on everything. There was a time in the Uttar Pradesh assembly when there was a lot of discussion regarding a certain matter. I remember when I went to visit a temple, there were some forces in society that did not want me to perform rituals,” he said.
“I urge you to try to understand who these forces in society are that were stopping someone from performing rituals at that time,” he added.
The Samajwadi Party leader also referred to an incident where BJP workers cleaned the Gauri Shanker Mahadev Mandir in Kannauj with Gangajal after his visit.
“I can never forget the day when the chief minister’s residence was washed with Ganga water. Can any aware, sensible person explain to me how a Chief Minister’s house can be cleaned with Ganga water? During the Lok Sabha elections in Mainpuri, I saw that many people had washed a statue. Even if I forget all these things for a moment, after that, I went to a temple in Kannauj where I had gone for the first time after winning the election, and the temple was washed after my visit,” he said.
Yadav criticized BJP MP Anurag Thakur for his caste-related remarks directed at Rahul Gandhi during a Union Budget discussion in the Lok Sabha. Yadav suggested that Thakur was instructed to make such comments to secure a ministerial position. Gandhi accused Thakur of insulting and abusing him during the debate but stated that he would not demand an apology.
“The member is a senior face of a big party, he has been a minister. Lots of issues have been raised in the House, we have spoken about Mahabharata, too, here, but I have a question .. How can you ask anybody’s caste?” the Samajwadi Party chief had said in the Parliament.
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