Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has launched a scathing attack on the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its president, Akhilesh Yadav. He has called Akhilesh's recent announcement to construct a Kanwar path as mere showmanship and theatrics.
UP Politics: Uttar Pradesh politics has once again heated up around religious issues. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has bly countered Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav's statement about building a special path for the Kanwar Yatra. He termed it a political stunt, putting the SP's history under scrutiny. Maurya said that the party, which, while in power, had fired on Ram devotees and used batons on Shiva devotees, is now feigning religious piety.
SP-INDI alliance's doors to power are closed until 2047: Maurya's claim
Deputy CM Maurya posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), launching a vigorous attack on Akhilesh Yadav and the SP. He wrote: "Bullets on Ram devotees, batons on Shiva devotees, did not allow Kanwariyas to even sing bhajans, created darkness during Navratri and Diwali, removed the name of Baba Saheb Ambedkar from medical colleges, built boundaries for graveyards but did not build Hindu cremation grounds."
Maurya claimed that the SP and the INDI alliance cannot return to power until 2047. He called the SP's PDA (Backward, Dalit, Minority) formula 'fake', stating that the public has now understood everything and this kind of politics will not work.
Akhilesh's statement: Will build Kanwar path, BJP has only betrayed faith
On July 7, Akhilesh Yadav stated that if the SP comes to power, special paths will be built for Kanwar pilgrims. He also accused the BJP of merely putting on a show during religious events—especially the Kumbh and Kanwar Yatra—and deceiving people's faith. This statement sparked discussions in political circles, with the belief that the SP is now adopting a strategy to woo Hindu voters.
Keshav Maurya takes a dig at SP's 'U-turn'
Maurya called Akhilesh's Kanwar path announcement a 'sham', saying: "When they were in power, they suppressed religion and faith, now that they are out of power, they are taking the support of religion. They opposed the construction of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple, and now they are also creating obstacles in the development of Mathura-Vrindavan." He called the SP a party of appeasement politics and said that the public has now recognized their 'religious hypocrisy'.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Kanwar Yatra has not only remained a religious event, but has also become a major means for political parties to woo the Hindu vote bank. While the BJP has been supporting this Yatra earlier, the SP's new stance now points towards a change in politics. Keshav Maurya's comment is a sharp satire on this change. His statement that the show of religious piety will not work now, indicates that the BJP wants to neutralize the SP's new strategy by linking it to its anti-Hindu past.
The issue of religion and faith has been deeply connected to the politics of Uttar Pradesh for a long time. Whether it is the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya or the organization of the Kanwar Yatra, the strategies of political parties have been changing on every occasion.
