During a rally in Bihar’s Ara district on Saturday, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav made a sharp remark aimed at RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat, who had recently claimed that people in India have shared “the same DNA for 40,000 years.” The former Uttar Pradesh CM also took part in Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar on the concluding day of its third leg and spoke at the rally.
With a smile, Yadav remarked, “We have always said that our struggle for social justice has lasted 5,000 years.But now we hear it has been continuing for 40,000 years. So we must prepare ourselves even more. We talk about 5,000 years of social inequality, but they (BJP-RSS) say it has lasted 40,000 years. In the last Lok Sabha polls, BJP was defeated in Awadh (Uttar Pradesh). Now, it is time to push them out of Magadh (Bihar).”
Bhagwat’s remark and Yadav’s counter
Bhagwat had made the DNA statement earlier this week at an event marking 100 years of the RSS, where he also said, “Everyone in Akhand Bharat is a Hindu. Yadav also recalled how “the chariot (rath) was stopped in Bihar”, hinting at the arrest of BJP veteran L.K. Advani in 1990 at Samastipur, which brought the Ram Rath Yatra to a halt. That moment had also triggered political rivalry between RJD chief Lalu Prasad and then UP chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who founded the Samajwadi Party. However, on this occasion, Akhilesh gave his complete backing to Prasad’s son, stating, “We will support Tejashwi Yadav in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections. May he become the next chief minister and guide Bihar toward development.
Support for Tejashwi Yadav
Backing Tejashwi’s promises, Akhilesh said, “He is talking about giving jobs to the youth of Bihar. If jobs come, people will no longer be forced to migrate. If Tejashwi emerges victorious, it will be BJP’s turn to leave Bihar,” he said.
The SP president also attacked the Narendra Modi-led central government, accusing it of “trying to threaten us” while “fearing (US President Donald) Trump” after the US administration imposed steep tariff hikes. With a laugh, Yadav added, “The tariffs seem to have been slapped on BJP’s face too. They had promised to double farmers’ income, but the truth is that farmers have been destroyed.”
Attack on government and poll panel
He further alleged that the Election Commission was “managing elections in favour of BJP.” Yadav assured, “All workers of our I.N.D.I.A. bloc will make sure that voter names are not wrongly removed. They will also make sure that voters can cast their votes freely, without any fear, during the elections.
