Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 22 (ANI): BSP Chief Mayawati on Saturday condemned Akhilesh Yadav's veiled attack on Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief and his former ally Jayant Chaudhary, declaring that the Samajwadi Party chief should apologise to the entire Jat community for allegedly insulting the family of former Prime Minister late Chaudhary Charan Singh.
"The public statement made by the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief regarding his former ally party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, and its leader, the Union Minister--that "Hum logon ne chavanni ko rupaiya bana diya, phir bhi chhod ke chale gaye"--is utterly indecent, unbecoming, and extremely shameful. For such arrogant and undemocratic rhetoric, he should immediately apologize not only to that party and its leader but also to the entire Jat community for insulting the family of the late Chaudhary Charan Singh Ji; that would be appropriate," wrote Mayawati in an X post.
BSP chief alleged that the Samajwadi Party's political narrow-mindedness and casteist hatred have frequently allowed the BJP to reap political and electoral benefits at such critical junctures. She added that this has led to the continuous weakening of secular forces in the state.
"In any case, in the country's politics, the SP's tactics, character, and face have always been, for its opposing parties as well as for its allies, mostly afflicted with political narrow-mindedness and casteist hatred, etc., rendering it largely unpleasant and untrustworthy. As a result, the BJP has often reaped the political and electoral benefits at such opportunities, while secular forces have continued to weaken," added Mayawati.
Referring to the 1995 Lucknow State Guest House incident, where Mayawati was reportedly attacked by Samajwadi Party (SP) workers after the BSP decided to withdraw support from Mulayam Singh Yadav's coalition government in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP chief alleged that the SP only knows how to utilise alliances for its own benefit. She added that once its objectives are met, the Samajwadi Party changes its stance and resorts to abusive language against its partners, describing this as the party's long-standing pattern of behaviour.
"Due to this very arrogant nature of the party, back in 1993, the SP-BSP alliance formed in U.P. with Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav broke down quickly, leading to the infamous Lucknow State Guest House incident on June 2, 1995, as part of the conspiracy to murder me, directed against me....In short, it must be said that this party (SP) only knows how to get its work done in alliances and, once its work is done, changes its colour like a chameleon and freely uses abusive language against the other party--this is the SP's old behavior. In such a situation, people from all sections of society should certainly remain cautious of the SP's narrow-minded and casteist politics," added Mayawati.
Mayawati's remarks came after Akhilesh Yadav launched a veiled attack on RLD chief and his former ally Jayant Chaudhary, declaring, "Hum logon ne chavanni ko rupaiya bana diya, phir bhi chhod ke chale gaye (We turned 25 paise into a rupee, and yet they left us)," triggering widespread criticism across political lines.
The SP chief was referring to Jayant Chaudhary's past statement in 2022 when, responding to alleged attempts by the BJP to lure him away from the SP alliance, the RLD leader had said, "Main koi chavanni hoon jo palat jaunga (I am not as light as a 25 paise coin that will flip)."
Responding to Akhilesh Yadav's remark, RLD Chief Jayant Chaudhary, who left the SP alliance to join hands with the BJP-led NDA alliance in 2024, accused the Samajwadi Party of insulting the Jat community, declaring that such arrogant behaviour only leads to a downfall.
"In the battle of politics, if you had to use some cheap words, you could have at least said them taking my name. It wouldn't have been an issue. Targeting the Jat community and saying ABCD we taught? I've seen this arrogance up close, and I believe such behaviour only brings downfall!," said Chaudhary (ANI).
"Insulting entire Jat community": Mayawati slams Akhilesh Yadav's dig at RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary
