After Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav has stirred a controversy by saying that a Bharatiya Janata Party minister targeted Army colonel Sofiya Qureshi as she is a Muslim, but IAF's wing commander Vyomika Singh was spared as she was thought to be a Rajput.
Ramgopal Yadav also mentioned director general of air operations, Air Marshal AK Bharti, claiming that BJP leaders were also unaware of his caste background.
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Wing commander Vyomika Singh and colonel Sofiya Qureshi are the two uniformed women who led the briefings on Operation Sindoor along with foreign secretary Vikram Misri.
ALSO READ | MP minister Vijay Shah issues apology for controversial remarks against Col Sofiya Qureshi
The Samajwadi Party leader set out to slam the BJP for its nationwide Tiranga Yatra, which is being taken out to mark the success and celebrate Operation Sindoor.
Addressing the gathering at a programme in Moradabad, Yadav said, "These people (BJP) are taking out the Tiranga Yatra... They do everything only for elections. What is the need to take out the Tiranga Yatra? If there is a need then the whole country should be taken into confidence, all the political parties should be taken into confidence."
‘One was abused, other was spared’
{{/usCountry}}Addressing the gathering at a programme in Moradabad, Yadav said, "These people (BJP) are taking out the Tiranga Yatra... They do everything only for elections. What is the need to take out the Tiranga Yatra? If there is a need then the whole country should be taken into confidence, all the political parties should be taken into confidence."
‘One was abused, other was spared’
{{/usCountry}}Ramgopal Yadav asked whether the people fighting in Operation Sindoor were “BJP people?”
Yadav went on to refer to MP minister Vijay Shah's derogatory remark against colonel Qureshi and note that the high court has ordered the registration of a case against him.
"But he did not know who Vyomika Singh was, nor did he know about Air Marshal AK Bharti; otherwise, these people would have abused them too," Yadav said.
The SP leader further stated, "Let me tell you. Vyomika Singh is a Jatav from Haryana, and Air Marshal Bharti is a Yadav from Purnia. So all three were from PDA (Picchda, dalit, Alpsankhyak or Backwards, dalits and minorities). One was abused as she was a Muslim. The other was spared thinking that she was a Rajput... and there was no information (to them) about Bharti."
ALSO READ | Karnataka govt orders FIR against MP minister Vijay Shah over Colonel Sofiya remark
He alleged that the leaders are "forced to think about what to do now" because all the aforementioned things are there in the newspaper.
Yadav said that when people's mentality is bad, then instead of talking about the armed forces' achievements, they begin talking about their own.
Uniform not seen via ‘casteist lens’
Yadav's remarks drew sharp ire from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who said that the armed forces' uniform is not seen through 'casteist' eyes as every soldier does 'Rashtradharma' (duty towards the nation) and is neither a representative of any caste nor of a religion.
In a post on X, Adityanath further said that the SP leader's statement reflects his narrow mind and goes against the honour of the Indian army.
"The uniform of the army is not seen through a 'casteist lens'. Every soldier of the Indian army performs 'national duty' and is not a representative of any caste or religion," he wrote on X in Hindi.
He said that by binding a brave daughter of the nation within the limits of caste, the SP leader not only displayed his party's narrow-mindedness but also "grave insult" to the army's valour and the nation's identity.
ALSO READ | SC slams Madhya Pradesh minister for comments on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi: ‘You should have…’
"This is the same mentality which dares to divide even patriotism in the name of appeasement and vote bank politics," CM Adityanath added.
He affirmed that the public will respond to this "distorted casteist thinking" as well.
Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya also took to X and said that the army is beyond caste and religion. "The army has only one duty, 'defense of the country'. Therefore, looking at case and religion in the army is a 'low mentality'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi she has laid special emphasis on women empowerment in the army as well. Everyone should trust him," he added.
BSP chief Mayawati, meanwhile, hit out at both the BJP and the SP. In a post on X she said that it is "extremely unfair" that at a time when the entire is united and proud of the armed forces' valour in Operation Sindoor, people are judging or dividing the army on basis of religion and caste.
"The entire country is united and proud of the valor of Operation Sindoor of the Indian Army against the terrorists in Pakistan. In such a situation, it is extremely unfair to judge/divide the army on the basis of religion and caste. The mistake that the BJP minister made in this regard, the same senior SP leader has also made today, which is shameful and condemnable," Mayawati wrote on her X.