Lucknow, Nov 15 — Uttar Pradesh Minister and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) Chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Sunday accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav of attempting to influence Dalit voters despite what he described as the SP's history of insulting Dalit icons and harming the community's interests. He also claimed that jailed leader Azam Khan had called B.R. Ambedkar a 'land-mafia'.
Rajbhar's remarks came after the Samajwadi Party organised a Dalit convention in Agra as part of its "PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak)" outreach.
The exchange triggered a war of words between the two parties, with SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand accusing Rajbhar of being part of a government under which atrocities against Dalits had allegedly taken place.
Questioning the SP's Dalit outreach, Rajbhar said the party had previously failed to respect prominent Dalit leaders, including B.R. Ambedkar.
“It is an irony that the ones who insulted great Dalit leaders once are holding a conference in their honour. They insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar. SP leader Azam Khan used to call Babasaheb Ambedkar ji a 'land mafia,' and Akhilesh Yadav could not stop him on stage. How is he holding a Dalit conference today?" the SBSP Chief added.
He alleged that the Samajwadi Party had caused significant damage to Dalit interests and questioned its record on reservation and the 1995 attack on the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.
"If anyone has caused the greatest harm to Dalits, it is the Samajwadi Party. Who ended reservation in promotions? Who attacked Mayawati in 1995? It was the Samajwadi Party workers," he said.
Rajbhar also accused Akhilesh Yadav of expecting Dalit voters to support the SP despite its past record.
"Akhilesh Yadav is dreaming that he is going to get the Dalits' vote," he added.
Responding to Rajbhar's remarks and his post on social media platform X, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies of hypocrisy on Dalit issues.
"The Bharatiya Janata Party, which insults Dalits and includes Ministers in its government, is the same party whose workers were accused of bullying a Dalit in Lucknow. OP Rajbhar is a Minister in that very (BJP) government; he is complicit in these atrocities against Dalits," Chand told IANS.
He also accused Rajbhar of targeting Dalit leaders and said the treatment meted out to Ramji Lal Suman reflected the BJP's approach towards the community.
"Those who perpetrate atrocities against Dalits, who have consistently stood against them, much like how they opposed Ramji Lal Suman simply because he is a Dalit, demonstrate that OP Rajbhar is anti-Dalit," Chand said.
Earlier, Rajbhar had taken to X to directly question Akhilesh Yadav over the SP's Dalit convention in Agra, demanding an apology for what he described as past insults to Ambedkar and Bahujan leader Kanshi Ram.
In his X post, Rajbhar targeted SP MP Ramji Lal Suman over his remarks concerning legendary Mewar king Rana Sanga, demanding that he apologise to the Hindu community.
The Uttar Pradesh Minister listed several decisions taken during the SP government's tenure between 2012 and 2017, alleging that districts named after Ambedkar and Ramabai Ambedkar were renamed, including Bhim Nagar as Sambhal and Ramabai Nagar as Kanpur Dehat.
He also alleged that Manyavar Kanshi Ram Nagar was renamed Kasganj and that schemes named after Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram were discontinued.
He accused the previous SP government of changing the names of hospitals, universities and colleges associated with Bahujan icons, including the Ambedkar Medical College in Kannauj and Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Harit Park in Lucknow.
The Uttar Pradesh Minister also referred to incidents in Agra's Panwari village, where a Dalit wedding procession was allegedly attacked because the groom was riding a horse. He claimed that nine people were killed in the incident.
He also alleged that Dalits faced violence in Akhilesh Yadav's home district of Etawah.
Rajbhar reiterated his allegation concerning former SP Minister Azam Khan, claiming that Khan had referred to Ambedkar as a "land mafia" during the inauguration of the Ala Hazrat Haj House in Ghaziabad, while Akhilesh Yadav was present on the stage.
He also referred to remarks by Shivpal Singh Yadav about the possibility of making Azam Khan the Home Minister, alleging that such an appointment would lead to further atrocities against Dalits.
In his post, Rajbhar said the people of Agra had witnessed what he described as the SP's political conduct and would reject the party's attempts to regain support.