LUCKNOW A fresh political slugfest has erupted in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections following controversial remarks by Bageshwar Dham chief Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, prompting Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav to demand a nationwide ban on the preacher’s public programmes.
He will be barred from entering either Braj or Awadh. Neither a true Raghuvanshi nor a true Yaduvanshi will welcome him. A board should be put up at the UP-MP border stating that entry to the religious land of Uttar Pradesh is prohibited for blasphemers. The BJP swiftly countered the SP’s religious pitch. How can we expect them to speak well of religion and Sanatan? There is no difference between Lord Ram, Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva, though there are different descriptions by different people. Political posters are being put up by those whose hands are red with the blood of Kar Sevaks. These people (SP) have disrespected our Gods.”
By Thursday, posters appeared outside the SP headquarters in Lucknow labelling the preacher a ‘dhongi, pakhandi, vyapari’ (hypocrite, pretender, and trader), alongside hoardings featuring Yadav and Lord Krishna with the 2027 poll slogan, ‘27 mein Krishna aayenge’.
In another statement, he further said: “He has hurt the sentiments of both the Yaduvanshis and the Raghuvanshis. UP minister for food, logistics and civil supplies Manoj Pandey said: “We can’t expect anything from the Samajwadi Party regarding our religion…all they know is to raise questions about Lord Ram, getting bullets fired on Kar Sevaks and burning the Ramcharitmanas, etc. On Wednesday evening, Yadav urged the Uttar Pradesh government to deny permission for Shastri’s upcoming November and December events across Ambedkar Nagar, Kunda, Gonda, Jhansi, Lucknow, and Agra.
