Lucknow, Oct 9 — Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has launched a sharp attack on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over his visit to Ayodhya, questioning his religious faith and accusing him of not visiting the Ram Temple for political gains.
In a post on X in Hindi, Rajbhar directly addressed Akhilesh Yadav, questioning whether he had offered prayers during his visit and referring to the firing on kar sevaks during the tenure of his father and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
“Akhilesh ji, did you go to Ayodhya? Didn't go for darshan, did you?” Rajbhar wrote, adding, “When you arrived on the streets of Ayodhya, didn't the screams of the kar sevaks echo in your ears? The very same kar sevaks on whom your father had bullets fired?”
Rajbhar alleged that if Yadav had visited the Ram Mandir, it would have impacted his minority vote bank.
The minister further urged the Samajwadi Party chief to seek forgiveness, writing, “There's still time - repent while you can. The sins won't be erased, but perhaps God will forgive. Lord Shri Ram is greatly merciful.”
Rajbhar also questioned Akhilesh Yadav's religious beliefs, asking him not to remain caught between political considerations and to openly declare himself an atheist if he did not have faith.
“If you have faith, don't let yourself become a hostage to political equations. If you don't have faith, just say it openly: I'm an atheist,” he said in the post.
The Uttar Pradesh minister also referred to photographs of Akhilesh Yadav receiving bhog prasad, contrasting them with the Samajwadi Party chief's appearance at iftar gatherings.
“Looking at this picture, it feels like you're not sitting there for bhog prasad but to satisfy a hunger for votes,” Rajbhar wrote, alleging that Akhilesh Yadav's religious gestures were motivated by electoral considerations.
Concluding his post, Rajbhar expressed hope that the Samajwadi Party chief would eventually seek forgiveness from Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman.
“I hope your conscience awakens, and if not today, then tomorrow, you will surely bow your head at the feet of Lord Shri Ram and Lord Hanuman and seek forgiveness,” he wrote, ending the post with “Jai Shri Ram, Jai Hanuman.”
Although Akhilesh Yadav visited Ayodhya on Thursday, where he participated in a Shrimad Bhagwat Katha hosted by former minister Tej Narayan 'Pawan' Pandey, he did not include a stop at the Ram Mandir on his itinerary.