Mayawati asks Akhilesh to apologise to Brahmins over SP member’s remarks

Lucknow: BSP chief Mayawati on Friday questioned the silence of Samajwadi Party leadership over the alleged objectionable remarks by an SP spokesperson on Brahmins. She said the silence of SP leadership is causing the matter to escalate and making it more serious.In a post on X in Hindi, Mayawati neither named SP chief Akhilesh Yadav nor SP spokesperson Rajkumar Bhati, who made the alleged remarks, but demanded an apology from Akhilesh to Brahmins. It will probably be appropriate if the SP chief takes the insult caused to the respect and honour of the Brahmin community by the irresponsible statement of his party spokesperson seriously, and immediately apologises to Brahmins, she said.Mayawati noted that the matter has made it evident that SP is against Brahmins, like it is towards Dalits, backwards and Muslims, and that its casteist character has not changed but become even stronger.Calling the uproar over SP spokesperson’s remarks and its widespread condemnation as genuine, the BSP chief said the tension over it is not subsiding even after the registration of an FIR.She also criticised UP govt for the “anger among Brahmins” given its attitude towards them.She reminded Brahmins of the safety and security they enjoyed during the BSP govts. She said Brahmins were not “used and thrown” when her govt was in office in the state and added that “it is well known to all”.Mayawati has been reaching out to Brahmins as a part of her strategy of social engineering for the 2027 assembly elections. Social engineering is about drawing support from all castes and communities and had helped BSP to form govt with a thumping majority in UP in 2007.