NEW DELHI: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday accused Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav of insulting Lord Buddha by allegedly not accepting his bust at an election rally in Uttar Pradesh.
Rijiju shared a video of Yadav purportedly not receiving the bust being given to him as a gift and apparently asking that it be kept backstage.
The rally took place in Kaushambhi a few days ago.
Several BJP leaders too have accused the SP chief of insulting Lord Buddha.
"I knew that Akhilesh Yadav was never serious about the sentiments of Dalits, but this open insult of Lord Buddha is an insult of India's ethos," the Union minister tweeted in Hindi.
Kaushambhi is a major pilgrimage site for Buddhists.