Lord Parashuram, known as the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu by devotees, is becoming the axis of politics in Uttar Pradesh ahead of 2022 state assembly polls as all political parties are playing their card in an attempt to woo Brahmin community voters, considered to be traditional voters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The parties are now allegedly trying to fuel the Brahmin vs Kshatriya angle ahead of the Assembly elections.
The politics over Brahmin community rose after the recent encounter of notorious gangster Vikas Dubey where it was alleged that the Brahmin community voters were unhappy with the state government over its increasing atrocities on the community under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a Kshatriya.
It all began with senior Congress leader Jitin Prasad launching a campaign against the atrocities over Brahmins in the state under the banner of Brahmin Chetna Parishad.
Then came the Samajwadi Party which announced its plan to install a 108-ft tall statue of Lord Parshuram in state capital Lucknow to show respect towards the Brahmin community. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party reportedly entrusted the task to a Brahmin leader, Abhishek Mishra, who was a minister in the Yadav cabinet.
Recently, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also jumped into the battle with its chief Mayawati's announcement of constructing hospitals with modern facilities in the name of Brahmin icons once her party came to power in the state.
Speaking to News18 on the issue, Congress Spokesperson Anshu Awasthi slammed both SP and BSP and asked them to spare the Brahmin community from politics. "Lord Parshuram is the deity of Brahmins and all the people who follow Sanatan religion. Nearly 700 murders of Brahmins have taken place in Uttar Pradesh in the last 3 years of BJP government; can it be possible without government protection? Families were burnt alive, where were BJP and Samajwadi Party then?" he said.
"Today, SP has remembered Lord Parshuram but people have not forgotten that during SP government, how Brahmins were forced to face atrocities. In both the SP and BJP governments, the Brahmins have suffered the most. The Congress party has always respected all religions and caste/classes, be it Brahmin, Dalit or Muslims. The Congress party has given more than 6 Brahmin Chief Ministers to the state. Today when the Congress is fighting on the road and raising voice on the killings of Brahmins, then other parties have remembered and are doing a formality," he added.
The Samajwadi Party is reportedly in discussions with some of the top statue makers in the country for building the 108-feet tall statue, which will be made through donations and fundraisers under the banner of Parashuram Chetna Peeth Trust and will be installed at Janeshwar Mishra Park in Lucknow.
However on Sunday, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati hit out at Samajwadi Party for raking up the issue of the statue of Lord Parshuram and asked why the party didn’t install the statue when it was in power in the state. "The condition of Samajwadi Party is not good in the state and that is why they are playing the Brahmin card now. Why did the Samajwadi Party not install the statue of Lord Parshuram when it was in power?" she asked.
"Keeping in mind the shortcomings of the state and central governments amid Covid-19 pandemic, if BSP comes to power, we will create hospitals with modern facilities and accomodation facilities in the name of great saints. Four-time BSP govt had launched several public interest schemes in the name of great saints of all classes and also named districts after them, which were later changed by the Samajwadi Party govt due their casteist mentality this will be reinstated after we come to power," news agency ANI quoted the BSP supremo as saying.
The BJP also hit out at the Samajwadi Party over the project and said that it did not have an objection with the installation of the statue but with the party's intention behind it.
"The dual face of SP has been uncovered now: on the one hand their MP says Babri was and will always be a mosque while on the other hand they talk about Lord Parashuram. The Brahmins are not at all unhappy with the BJP in the state," said BJP leader Laxmikant Bajpai.
However, in retaliation, SP leader Abhishek Mishra lashed out at BJP and said that if the BJP was so bothered, it should install an even bigger statue than the Samajwadi Party. "The BJP has ignored Lord Parshuram, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and had even done away with the Holiday of Parshuram Jayanti and kept him in the category of great men instead of God," he said.
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