NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar’s remarks asking newly appointed government officials to help “burn the Lanka” of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress at a government programme on Monday sparked a political row, with the opposition accusing him of misusing a government platform to target rivals.Addressing a programme in Lucknow where appointment letters were distributed to 1,375 newly selected gram panchayat officers, Rajbhar urged the recruits to publicise the work of the Yogi Adityanath government ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.“Akele Hanuman ji Lanka jala ke aa gaye the… aap bataiye to Samajwadi Party aur Congress ki Lanka jalaoge ya nahin jalaoge (Lord Hanuman had gone alone and burnt Lanka… Tell me, will you burn the Lanka of the Samajwadi Party and Congress or not?” news agency PTI quoted the minister saying.Rajbhar, who heads BJP ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), asked the recruits to publicise the government’s work in whichever districts they are posted.“Once you leave from here and join your job in whichever district you are posted, publicise this (Ab jab aap yahan se jaayenge apni naukri join karenge, jis bhi zile mein aapko milegi naukri, wahan is baat ka prachar prasar kariyega),” he said.“Tell your brothers and sisters that if they also want a job without paying money, then make Yogi Adityanath the chief minister for the third time,” Rajbhar added.He then asked the beneficiaries how many would “publicise” the message, following which almost all those seated on the other side of the stage raised their hands.Taking his remarks into a colloquial Purvanchali tone, Rajbhar invoked the Ramayana’s account of Hanuman burning Lanka.“Hanuman ji had gone alone and burnt Lanka after finding out the entire strength of Ravan and then returned to tell Lord Ram. You are 1,375 people here. Tell me, will you burn the Lanka of the Samajwadi Party and Congress or not?” he said.“Do not worry, although I alone keep setting fire to their Lanka every day,” Rajbhar added with a smile.The programme was attended by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi and senior Panchayati Raj department officials.The remarks drew criticism from the Congress and SP, which accused the minister of using a government event to target political opponents.Congress state chief Ajay Rai said, “To exhort the candidates who are starting their government jobs to target Congress and Samajwadi Party is shocking. Was it a political rally or a government event. Is this how you provoke masses?”
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Rajbhar also attacked the opposition over its criticism of the state government’s performance, saying connectivity between districts had improved, digital libraries had been established in villages and development had taken place.“But the people of the Samajwadi Party and Congress say that nothing has happened. It seems the power of their glasses has become weak, which is why they cannot see anything,” he said.He further said the opposition parties were engaged in politics of opposition rather than ideas.“Whether they are people of the Congress or the SP, these people are actually dead people; they are not alive.“They do not do politics of ideas, but only politics of opposition. They want to do politics of hatred, but the people do not want politics of hatred. They want brotherhood and mutual harmony.”Rajbhar urged the gathering to ensure that the strength of the SP and Congress was halved in the 2027 elections.
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