Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday defended his party Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman’s controversial remark in Parliament on 16th century Rajput warrior king Rana Sanga, saying that if Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders can “revisit history to discuss Aurangzeb then he has also just mentioned a page from history.”
During his speech in Parliament, Suman had said, “Indian Muslims do not consider Babur as their idol. They follow Prophet Muhammad and the Sufi tradition. But I want to ask, who brought Babur here? It was Rana Sanga who invited Babur to defeat Ibrahim Lodi.”
“So, if Muslims are called the descendants of Babur, then Hindus must be the descendants of traitor Rana Sanga. We criticise Babur, but why don’t we criticise Rana Sanga?” he added.
Rana Sanga from the Sisodia clan of Suryavanshi Rajputs was the ruler of Mewar from 1508 to 1528.
“Everyone is flipping through the pages of history. Ask BJP leaders which pages they are turning. What are they debating? They want to talk about Aurangzeb,” PTI quoted Akhilesh Yadav as saying.
“If Ramjilal Suman ji has referred to a page in history that contains certain facts, then what’s the issue? We didn’t write history 200 years ago,” the SP chief added.
“If BJP continues to flip through history, people will also remember that during Chhatrapati Shivaji’s coronation, no one anointed him by hand. It is said that he was anointed using the toe of a left foot. Will the BJP condemn this today?” he said.
Drawing an analogy, Yadav referred to Galileo’s persecution for his claim that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
“Galileo was punished for his scientific assertion, and centuries later, the Church apologised for its mistake. If the BJP respects Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, will they apologise for the fact that he was anointed with a left foot toe?” he said.
BJP calls Akhilesh’s remark ‘insult to Hindus’
BJP leader Amit Malviya said Yadav, “who indulges in appeasement, is supporting his MP Ramji Lal for calling the great warrior Rana Sanga a traitor. This is an insult not only to the Rajput community but to the entire Hindu community”.
“The distorted comments being made on the Maha Kumbh were also no exception but are an indication of the petty anti-Hindu mentality of the SP, due to which the people of Uttar Pradesh have pushed the SP to the lowest rung of the state’s politics,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)