Samajwadi Party to install Parashurama's tallest idol in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: In an apparent bid to consolidate its position among Brahmins, Samajwadi Party is planning to get an 108-foot idol of Lord Parashurama installed in Lucknow. Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, was born a Brahmin but had traits of a Kshatriya.
A group of SP leaders from Lucknow have already reached Jaipur to talk to artisans who specialise in making tall idols.
SP spokesperson Anurag Bhadauria confirmed to TOI that a towering idol of Parashurama will be installed and added that it will be bigger and more magnificent than any other idol. “We will install a magnificent idol of Parashurama because we respect all sections of the society equally,” he told TOI on Friday.
Bhaduaria claimed that SP believes in development for all and respects all communities. “So no one should have any problem if Samajwadi Party is installing a magnificent idol of Parashurama,” he said.
The announcement comes days after senior Congress leader and former Union minister Jitin Prasada, who had recently launched ‘Brahmin Chetna Parishad’, claimed there was a growing perception that Uttar Pradesh government was anti-Brahmins. “How is it that the victims of recent crime incidents are only Brahmins? The statistics speak for themselves,” he had said.
Sources in SP said it has been decided in principle that a 108-foot idol of Parashurama will be installed in Lucknow. The party will go for crowdfunding to finance the project and could approach the state government for land to install the idol.
The decision to install the tallest idol of Parshurama was taken at a recent meeting of the Uttar Pradesh Prabhudh Sabha (UPPS), a unit of Samajwadi Party. The meeting was chaired by SP MLA from Unchahar, Manoj Pandey, who is also the president of UPPS. The meeting was attended by senior SP leaders, including former UP Assembly Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey and a host of other Brahmin leaders of the party.
Talking to reporters, Manoj Pandey said that besides Lucknow, UPPS has decided to install idols of Parashurama and statues of freedom fighter Mangal Pandey in every district of the state. “We will collect funds through crowdfunding and seek land from the municipal bodies in every district to install these statues. If the authorities concerned refuse to provide us with land, then we will install them on private plots donated by party leaders and supporters,” Pandey said.