SP's Ramgopal Yadav stirs row with Vyomika Singh 'caste' remark; Adityanath pans him

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav on Thursday sparked a controversy when he said Colonel Sofiya Qureshi was targeted by a BJP minister as she is a Muslim but Wing Commander Vyomika Singh was spared thinking she was Rajput.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reacted sharply to the remark, saying the uniform of armed forces is not seen through 'casteist glasses' as every soldier performs 'Rashtradharma' and is not a representative of any caste or religion.

Wing Commander Singh was a regular face in the press briefings on Operation Sindoor along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.

While taking a dig at the multiple Tiranga Yatra being taken out by the BJP across the country, Yadav at a programme in Moradabad, 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. Were the people who are fighting there (in Operation Sindoor) BJP people?"

Referring to the objectionable comment made by Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah on Colonel Qureshi, he said, "One of their ministers abused Colonel Qureshi. The high court has ordered registration of a case against him again. But he did not know who Vyomika Singh was and neither did he know about Air Marshal AK Bharti, otherwise these people would have abused them too."

Yadav added, "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. When it came in the (news)paper, they are forced to think about what to do now."

The SP MP said when the mentality is bad, then instead of telling about the achievements of the army, people start talking about their own achievements.

Adityanath said Yadav's remarks not only shows his narrow thinking but are also against the honour of the Indian army.

In a post on X, he said, "The uniform of the army is not seen through 'casteist glasses'. Every soldier of the Indian Army performs 'Rashtradharma' and is not a representative of any caste or religion." The SP national general secretary binding a brave daughter within the confines of caste is not only a display of his party's narrow thinking, but is also a gross insult to the valour of the army and the identity of the country, Adityanath said.

Questioning the mentality of the SP, he said this is the same thinking which dares to divide even patriotism for appeasement and vote bank politics.

He said people will definitely respond to this "distorted casteist thinking".