Congress Dalit leader Udit Raj, going by his party’s penchant, has again tried to spread false caste narratives to gain relevance in the social media space. He took to Twitter to empathise with the multi-crore fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad Yadav, insinuating that whatever difficult condition the former Bihar CM is in today is because of his ‘caste’.
The Congress leader seems to be of the firm belief that the reason behind the former Bihar Chief Minister’s sufferings is his anti-Modi stance and his ‘caste’, not his multiple corruption cases and involvement in scams worth billions.
He took to Twitter to share a picture of Lalu Prasad recuperating in AIIMS and wrote in Hindi: “ये लालू यादव जी हैं । जेल में हैं । इस समय इलाज AIIMS में चल रहा है ।इनका दोष भाजपा विरोधी होना और पिछड़े समाज से आना है।” (This is Lalu Yadav ji. He is in jail. Currently he is being treated in AIIMS. His mistake is that he is at odds with BJP and belongs to the backward class).
ये लालू यादव जी हैं । जेल में हैं । इस समय इलाज AIIMS में चल रहा है ।इनका दोष भाजपा विरोधी होना और पिछड़े समाज से आना है। pic.twitter.com/kwGIgefiR3
— Dr. Udit Raj (@Dr_Uditraj) April 2, 2021
The Congress spokesperson sympathises with the scam-convict politician, insinuating that his conviction in the multi-crore scam is nothing but political vendetta. While he accuses the Modi government of caste-based discrimination, he completely ignores the fact that the courts have convicted Lalu Prasad for amassing massive wealth by misappropriating public money after years of legal proceedings.
For Congress leader Udit Raj, it does not matter whether Lalu Yadav is corrupt or unethical, as long he furthers his party’s political narrative against the current political establishment in the country. He also ignored that along with Lalu, Jagannath Mishra was also convicted in the fodder scam cases.
Udit Raj’s falsehoods were called out by many on Twitter.
Have some knowledge on History. Lalu was first convicted by Court in 2013 (after 15 years of trial) and in UPA-2, Law Minister Sibal tried to bring a Cabinet decision to change PC Act to save Lalu. Then lot of resentment and that Cabinet Note was tear by Rahul at Press Club.
— J Gopikrishnan (@jgopikrishnan70) April 2, 2021
Some users even pointed out the lavish treatment Lalu Yadav is getting despite being a convicted criminal. It is notable here that Lalu Yadav had been admitted in RIMS for months. During the covid scare he was shifted to the RIMS Director’s bungalow from where he was even running party meetings during the 2020 Bihar election campaign.
अपराधी होने के बाबजूद AIIMS के आलीशान कमरे में इलाज होना कोई मामूली बात नहीं है,
— SUNIL BHOJWAL (@SunilKu34812849) April 2, 2021
कितने अपराधियों को ऐसी VIP सुविधा मिलती है बताओगे?
संविधान कहां लिखा है ऐसा भेदभाव
ये हमारे संविधान का अपमान है जो इन जैसे अपराधी को VIP ट्रीटमेंट मिलता है दूसरे को सामान्य इलाज भी नहीं मिल पाता है। https://t.co/5ZMPd5jeME
Udit Raj and his caste rhetorics
Udit Raj’s remark do not completely surprise us, as his anti-Brahmin rhetorics are not hidden from anyone. The All India Parisangh, a Dalit organisation run by Congress leader Udit Raj, had once compared the Brahmin community to pigs. It posted an image of a pig wearing the janeu, the sacred thread that Brahmins wear. It also claimed that the Judiciary is comprised of only Brahmins.
After Arnab Goswami questioned Sonia Gandhi over her silence on the lynching of Sadhus on Palghar, the All India Parisangh said that ‘only a Brahmin can fall as low as Arnav Goswami has fallen’. A complaint was registered against the same by a social worker from Rajasthan’s Bikaer with the Cyber Crime Branch in New Delhi.
Congress and caste based politics goes hand in hand
Evidently, the Congress spokesperson is no different from his party members. He only does what his party supremos indulge in doing all the time. One remembers how the Congress party had recently clung to the Hathras incident to gain some much-needed political capital in Uttar Pradesh, by exploiting the caste angles in the case. When the Uttar Pradesh police arrested the notorious gangster Vikas Dubey and encountered his aides, then too, the Congress party has stepped up its caste politics, trying to paint the BJP Government led by Yogi Adityanath as ‘anti-Brahmin’.
We have seen Congress supporting Bhim Army in Uttar Pradesh. They fanned the Bhima-Koregaon violence hailing the protests and blaming BJP for ignoring Dalits.
In the case of Rohit Vemula suicide too, Congress played and played it as much they could to generate ‘Dalit Injustice’ narrative. Their support to Hardik Patel just before the Gujrat polls further clarified it. Not only Hardik, Jignesh Mevani too became their darling when it came to opposing BJP. It has also tried to play the ‘Lingayat‘ card in Karnataka.