New Delhi [India], May 16 : BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia on Friday termed the remarks of Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav referring to the caste of Wing Commander Vyomika Singh as "extremely unfortunate".
"It is extremely unfortunate that on one hand, the whole country is celebrating the Operation Sindoor and feeling proud of the Indian armed forces teaching Pakistan a lesson, while on the other hand, the Samajwadi Party is making anti-national and casteist statements," Bhatia told ANI.
He alleged that the leaders, like Ram Gopal Yadav did not want the country to progress under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"He (Ram Gopal Yadav) did not even know the name of our national pride, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh... There is a reason for this toxicity. These people do not want the country to progress under PM Narendra Modi," he said.
"If Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav had read the law, they would have known that using casteist slurs is a crime under the SC/ST Act. So he has committed a crime too. I am sure that Akhilesh Yadav will not take any action against Ram Gopal Yadav," he added.
Meanwhile, Ram Gopal Yadav defended his remarks, 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.