Yogi: Where was PDA when OBCs were being killed?

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday attacked the Samajwadi Party and asked where PDA was the when OBCs (Other Backward Classes) were being killed in the state.

PDA refers to Pichda (backwards), Dalit and Alpsankhyak (minorities), the slogan coined by the Samajwadi Party to refer to its social engineering formula in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing the BJP’s OBC Morcha state executive meeting, Adityanath listed the murders of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005, lawyer Umesh Pal in Prayagraj in 2023 and the sensational killing of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in November 2005, in which an OBC was also among the victims.

“Where was the PDA when BSP MLA Raju Pal and Umesh Pal of the OBC community were murdered in Prayagraj?” Adityanath asked. The Samajwadi Party was in power in Uttar Pradesh at the time of the Raju Pal murder.

“Everyone knows about the party which was close to the mafia who carried out these murders. Where was PDA then?” the chief minister asked.

Adityanath also asserted that the OBC community was at the receiving end during the SP regime.

“The Samajwadi Party government was hand in glove with the mafia as the entire state was reeling under riots and lawlessness (then),” the chief minister said.

Adityanath accused the Opposition of doing nothing for the OBCs when these parties were in power in the state.

“The Congress ruled the state for 60 years. The Samajwadi Party and the BSP had formed governments four times each in the state. But they did not do anything for the OBC community,” he said.

Drawing a contrast, he said, “In the last six-seven years of the (BJP) government, 6.5 lakh appointments have been made in government jobs in the state. Out of this, 60% are OBCs.”

The chief minister also raised a question mark on the selection process of SDMs in the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission exams during the Samajwadi Party regime in 2015-16

“In the UPPSC exam (2015-16), 56 SDMs out of 86 were of the same caste. This was detrimental to the interest of the OBC community,” Adityanath said.

“Such people are raising a question mark on the selection process of 69,000 basic teachers,” he added.

Adityanath alleged the Opposition was trying to create a rift in the society on the basis of caste and it was using smartphones and social media as a tool.

“You need to be cautious of such people,” he said.

He accused the previous state governments of banning Kanwar Yatra in the state.