Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 16 : Questioning the "silence" of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah's objectionable remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, Samajwadi Party women's wing national president Juhi Singh said that they should look at themselves before making any allegation against the SP.
"Military's valour diminishes when someone who passed a comment on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi is not removed from his post and BJP's subsequent absolute silence on the comment... Maybe they should look at themselves before making any allegations against the Samajwadi Party. We are with our Army and have extended our support to the Indian Army," Juhi Singh told ANI on Thursday.
An FIR was registered against Vijay Shah on Wednesday night over his objectionable remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.
Earlier, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Gopal Yadav defended his caste-related remarks on Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, referring to many cases of atrocities against minorities, Dalits and backward classes in north Indian states, especially Uttar Pradesh.
Taking a dig at UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who labelled his remarks as "casteist", Yadav said that the CM, under whose nose the atrocities are committed, reacted to his statement without even listening to it. He also ridiculed the media channels, saying nobody except the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trusts them.
"I am surprised that the Chief Minister, under whose nose unimaginable atrocities are being committed on minorities, Dalits and backward classes, tweeted without even listening to my entire statement. I have no complaint against the media channels that have taken over Islamabad and Rawalpindi because no one except the ruling party trusts them," Yadav posted on X.
The SP MP clarified that he was making a point about people with "corrupt mentality" that those who "abused" Colonel Sofiya Qureshi on the basis of her religion would have abused Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Air Marshal AK Bharti, had they known their caste location.
"In some states of North India, particularly Uttar Pradesh, false cases are being filed against people on the basis of religion, caste and class. Encounters are being carried out on the basis of caste and religion. Property is being seized by declaring them gangsters on the basis of caste, religion and class. Women are being tortured on the basis of caste, religion and class. Postings of employees and officers are done on the basis of caste, religion and class...," Yadav said.
"I had made statements about people with such corrupt mentality in a programme yesterday, stating that Colonel Sofia was abused because she was identified by her religion, Foreign Secretary Mistry was abused, if these abusers had come to know that Vyomika Singh is Jatav and Air Marshal Bharti is Yadav, then they would not have refrained from abusing these officers also," he added.
This comes after Yogi Adityanath slammed Yadav over the latter's remarks, accusing the Samajwadi Party of being "narrow-minded" and insulting the army. He said the public would respond to the "distorted casteist thinking".
"The Samajwadi Party's national general secretary's act of binding a brave daughter within the ambit of caste is not only a display of his party's narrow-mindedness but is also a grave insult to the valour of the army and the country's identity...The public will once again respond to this distorted casteist thinking," Adityanath posted on X.
Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati said it was "unfair" to divide the army based on religion and caste. She said that Yadav committed the same "mistake" as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijay Shah, who sparked a political controversy over his remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, which were "shameful and condemnable".