Akhilesh poster row: UP SC/ST panel writes to Lucknow police commissioner alleging 'insult' to Ambedkar

Lucknow: The UP SC/ST panel has written to the police commissioner here to register a case against the Samajwadi Party’s Lohia Vahini under the SC/ST Act over a poster, featuring the split faces of party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BR Ambedkar, put up outside the party office.

The poster has sparked a political furore, with the BJP attacking the Samajwadi Party, the main opposition party in the state, for "insulting" Ambedkar, a Dalit icon who is widely regarded to be one of the key architects of the Indian Constitution.

The BSP, too, has threatened to take to the streets if Ambedkar was "insulted".

Uttar Pradesh SC/ST Commission chief Baijnath Rawat told PTI that he has taken suo motu cognisance of the controversial poster, which the SP has distanced itself from.

The SP’s Lohia wing has "insulted" Ambedkar with its poster that has the split faces of Akhilesh Yadav and Ambedkar, Rawat told PTI.

"We have taken suo motu cognisance of the poster and written to the Lucknow police commissioner on Wednesday to register a case against the guilty under the SC/ST Act in this connection and brief the commission about the developments thereof on May 5,” Rawat told PTI.

“It is inconceivable for anyone to even think of equating Baba Saheb with any individual,” he added.

Rawat said the BJP revers Ambedkar and it is evident from several government decisions as he spoke about how the BJP ran a campaign to clean all Ambedkar statues and memorials since the day of his birth anniversary on April 14.

Samajwadi Party on Thursday issued a public appeal to its supporters and workers, urging them not to draw comparisons between party leaders and revered national icons.

The party, while thanking its supporters for their affection and dedication, expressed concern over the use of such imagery, which had sparked a political row.

“We wholeheartedly thank all our supporters and party workers for their love, affection and commitment,” the party said in a statement posted on X.

“However, we make a very sensitive appeal that no leader of any party should ever be compared to or equated with any divine and great people in any context.” The statement further cautioned against creating or circulating any images, idols, songs, or statements that suggest such comparisons.

“Divine personalities and great men are far above any comparison,” it added. When asked about the poster, SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhary told PTI, "This is not the official poster of Samajwadi Party... We are not aware of who has put this up. Anyone can put up a poster anywhere. Maybe it's the work of BJP men."

Later, when asked about the poster by reporters in Ballia, Yadav said, "We will let Lohia Vahini leader Lal Chandra Gautam not to put such posters involving great people in future." The SP leadership, buoyed by the party's impressive showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, has been trying to woo the Dalits, once considered loyal to the BSP, and competing with the BJP for support of the OBCs, considered the mainstays of BJP's phenomenal wins in UP since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

The SP, which is trying to pitch itself as a party for Dalits, has targeted the BJP saying the ruling party wanted to change Ambedkar's Constitution.