Akhilesh Yadav Targets BJP At Agra Rally, Says Dalit Community Has Become More ‘Damdar’

Agra: The Dalit has now become 'damdar (assertive)', Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Sunday as he attributed a new meaning to the party's 'PDA' formulation during his address at a 'Dalit Sammelan' here, and described the gathering as the beginning of a broader movement for the upliftment of marginalised communities.

Taking a swipe at the BJP, he said those who have considered Agra their stronghold would soon lose their foothold. "This time, the Dalit community will defeat the BJP; wipe them out for good," he asserted.

Thanking party MP Ramji Lal Suman and other leaders for organising the event, Yadav said the 'D' in the party's 'PDA' coinage -- which stands for 'pichhda' (backward classes), Dalit, and alpsankhyak (minorities) -- now represents "damdar Dalit".

"Looking at the support of the Dalit community, I can say that the 'D' in our 'PDA', has now become 'Damdar Dalit'," he said.

Yadav claimed the BJP is conspiring against the 'PDA' after its electoral defeat in the recent bypolls.

Targeting the ruling party over alleged atrocities against Dalits, he claimed Uttar Pradesh has recorded the highest number of cases of such atrocities, and cited National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

He further alleged that around 200 statues of Dr B R Ambedkar had been vandalised in the state over the past decade. "No action has been taken against those responsible."

Yadav said the Samajwadi Party has published a newsletter documenting such incidents of vandalism, including details of where they took place and those allegedly responsible.

"Those who vandalise Dr Ambedkar's statues do not merely attack the sculpture. They attack the Constitution held in Babasaheb's hand," he said.

"If there is a Constitution, there is dignity. If there is a Constitution, there are rights. If there is a Constitution, there is democracy. And it is democracy that keeps the Constitution alive," he asserted.

Yadav claimed that the massive turnout at the conference reflected growing support for the party's political campaign.

He also questioned the claims of the "double-engine" government. "Those who used to talk about double-engine government have been handed a double zero in Kashi," he said, referring to the loss of the BJP candidate from Varanasi in the recent legislative council election. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)