Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday described caste as an “emotional connect” for backward communities and said their entitlement to reservation was rooted in caste-based discrimination. Citing the Mandal Commission, he argued that the commission had clearly established caste as the basis for identifying backward classes and granting them reservation.
Addressing a press conference at the SP office here, Yadav attacked the Yogi Adityanath government’s recent order prohibiting the mention of caste in FIRs, arrest warrants and other official documents. “The Harijan Act itself is based on caste. Action should be taken against those who purified houses with Ganga water after Dalits entered them. I went to a temple where the priest welcomed me, but the BJP people got the temple washed. They should explain why,” he said.
Yadav claimed that the BJP is rattled by the growing unity of PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) communities. “Ever since we released data on PDA representation in different departments, BJP has panicked. They have started humiliating people. Today PDA trusts the Samajwadi Party,” he said.
He also alleged rampant corruption in the state. “Even legislators admit on stage that there is a ten percent commission. But they do not speak beyond that…”