Caste-based comment controversy, Ramgopal vs Yogi Adityanath

Samajwadi Party MP Ramgopal Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have engaged in a heated political debate over caste-based comments made by Air Force Wing Commander Byomika Singh.

In a post on X, Ramgopal Yadav alleged that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was distorting the statement for political purposes without listening to the entire statement. He made it clear that the main purpose of his statement was to highlight how caste and religion are affecting law enforcement, recruitment and public sentiment.

At an event in Moradabad, Yadav said that BJP leader Vijay Shah made ugly comments against Army Colonel Sophia Qureshi after learning about her religious identity. But he did not state anything about Wing Commander Byomika Singh because he was considered a Rajput and let go. He also stated that Byomika Singh is actually a Jatav in Haryana and Air Marshal AK Bharati is a Yadav from Purnia in Bihar. All are backward, Dalit, and minority people.

According to Yadav, “All three are from the PDA category — one was abused because he was a Muslim, the other was released because he was a Rajput, the identity of the third was unknown. Now that everything is out in the newspapers, they are worried.”

He also said that the BJP government is busy promoting its own glory instead of talking about the achievements of the army.

Reacting strongly to this comment, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “The uniform of the Indian Army is never seen through the glasses of casteism. Every soldier follows the ‘state religion’ and is not a representative of any caste or religion.”

Incidentally, Byomika Singh, Sophia Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Vikram Mishri recently participated in the Operation Sindh. They briefed journalists about India’s counter-attack on terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

This incident has raised a big question mark not only about politics but also about the trial of army personnel on the basis of caste and religion.