‘Insult To Babasaheb’: BJP Tears Into SP’s Ambedkar-Akhilesh Hoarding, Plans Big Protests

SOURCE ; NEW18

Last Updated:April 30, 2025, 10:31 IST

A hoarding showing half faces of BR Ambedkar and Akhilesh Yadav has sparked BJP outrage, calling it an insult to Ambedkar, and accusing SP of misusing the image for Dalit votes.

A hoarding featuring BR Ambedkar and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in half faces has drawn the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s ire, which called it an insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar, and asserted that the Samajwadi Party was trying to get votes of Dalits by showing this photo.

The hoarding was displayed at several places in Lucknow, according to a report with News18Hindi.

The report also claimed the BJP was planning protests against the Samajwadi Party across the state today.

In an X post, the BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared a photo of Akhilesh Yadav holding the hoarding, and wrote, “There can be no greater insult to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of India’s Constitution and a symbol of the Dalit community, than to distort his face and superimpose Akhilesh Yadav’s face on it.”

“No matter how many times Akhilesh Yadav is reborn, he can never match Babasaheb’s greatness or his contributions to the upliftment of society’s deprived sections,” Malviya wrote in Hindi.

“The Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh have previously insulted the great warrior Rana Sanga, and now Babasaheb. This is absolutely unacceptable to Hindu society,” a rough translation of his post suggested. 

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Wednesday said, “A poster of Samajwadi Party shows half the face of Babasaheb and the remaining half is of Akhilesh Yadav. This is an insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar. They are trying to get the votes of Dalits by showing this photo.”

“Akhilesh Yadav is living in delusion. It was the Congress which was behind Babasaheb losing the first election in 1952 and then the by-election in 1953. Akhilesh Yadav is now with the Congress. How can the Dalit community support Akhilesh Yadav?” he asked.

“Akhilesh Yadav and his family members have been the biggest supporters of the Other Backward Class (OBC) reservation, however, Rajiv Gandhi firmly opposed it. He spoke for 2.43 hours on the floor of Lok Sabha against it,” Meghwal said.

“Babasaheb was against parivaar vaad and Akhilesh is a product of dynasty,” he added.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak also condemned the Samajwadi Party’s act and termed it “a reflection of SP’s corrupt mentality”.

Pathak said, “It is a reflection of SP’s corrupt mentality and a deliberate attempt to insult Babasaheb, which will never be accepted by the people, and the party (SP) will face the consequences at the right time.”

UP’s Social Welfare and SC/ST Welfare Minister Asim Arun said the SP hoarding amounts to a grave insult to Ambedkar.

He said that SP has a history of undermining Dalits and backward classes, recalling how Akhilesh Yadav had scrapped several welfare schemes during his tenure as the chief minister.

Member of UP’s legislative council, Lalji Prasad Nirmal, also accused Akhilesh Yadav of being anti-Dalit, citing his decision to ban reservation in promotions for Dalit personnel, which caused significant hardship to Dalit officers and employees.

Rajya Sabha MP Brij Lal criticised Yadav for equating himself with Ambedkar, stating that “Akhilesh is not even worthy of being the dust beneath Babasaheb’s feet.”

“People of the country will not forgive him for this insult,” he added.