Akhilesh Yadav asks UP CM to also 'reveal' caste of other Gods
Lucknow, Dec 12: Taking a dig at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav asked him to "reveal" caste of other deities so he could pray to the God of his caste.
Yadav's remarks come days after the chief minister described Lord Hanuman as a Dalit.
Adityanath had, during a poll rally in Rajasthan's Alwar district, said, "Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit. Bajrang Bali worked to connect all Indian communities together, from north to south and east to west."
"Caste of only some Gods have been revealed. It will be good if he tells caste of all of them. I will also pray to the God of my caste," Yadav told reporters Wednesday.
Adityanath was strongly criticised by the opposition for his remarks while one of its own Dalit MP quit the party.
Bahraich BJP MP Savitri Bai Phule claimed that Lord Hanuman was "a Dalit and a slave of 'manuwadi' people" and alleged that Dalits and backwards were being called 'bandar' (monkey) and 'rakshas' (demon).
The Lok Sabha member quit the BJP last week, charging it with playing politics to divide the society.
Asked to comment on the results of the just-concluded assembly elections in five states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, Akhilesh said the outcome was "encouraging".
"Results of assembly polls are out. I thank people of these state especially of Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan and welcome the 'janadesh'. Though our (SP's) performance was not good, we won a seat in MP and stood at second at some places," he said.
To a question on forging future alliance, he said, "Presently I am seeing how strong my party is and emphasising on its preparations upto booth level. The SP always stood against communal forces and its objective it so see happy and prosperous India."
Yadav said that his party did not contest many seats so that it did not ruin the political pitch of other parties against the BJP.
"We did not contest too many seats. We contested on seats where we had some base. We did this to not botch political prospects of other parties against the BJP," he said, adding that his party has already offered support to the Congress in MP.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
India-Oman free trade pact to give new energy to bilateral relations: PM Modi
Muscat (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Oman will give new confidence and energy to the bilateral relations.
Speaking at the India-Oman Business Summit here, the visiting Prime Minister said the summit will give a new direction to the India-Oman partnership.
"Today, we are taking such a historic decision, the echo of which will be heard for many decades to come. Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that is, CEPA, will give our partnership new confidence and new energy in the 21st century," the prime minister said.
ALSO READ: Karnataka Assembly passes hate speech bill amid din
He said India’s nature has always been progressive and self-driven.
Whenever India grows, it helps its friends grow as well, Modi said and added India is progressing towards becoming the world’s third-largest economy.
"This is beneficial for the entire world. However, it is even more beneficial for Oman because, in addition to being close friends, we are also maritime neighbours. Our people know each other well. We have generations of trust in our business relations, and we understand each other’s markets very well," he said.
Modi invited companies from Oman to become partner in the growth story. He said India's economy is growing at a high rate because over the past 11 years, India has not just changed policies, but has also changed its economic DNA.
He informed the gathering about the reforms, including GST and IBC, India has implemented in the recent years.
Modi arrived here on Wednesday on a two-day visit.
India-Oman bilateral trade was about USD 10.5 billion (exports USD 4 billion and imports USD 6.54 billion) in 2024-25.
#WATCH | Muscat, Oman: At the India-Oman Business Summit, PM Narendra Modi says, "Today, we are making a historic decision whose echo will be heard for decades to come. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will fill us with new trust and new energy in the 21st… pic.twitter.com/NkJNADb8Rn
— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2025
