LUCKNOW: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government for organising a programme to mark the anniversary of the 1925 Kakori train robbery, saying neither the BJP nor the RSS had anything to do with India's freedom struggle.
Yadav termed the government's programme "pretence".
On this day in 1925, some Indian revolutionaries looted the British government's treasure from a train while it was passing through Uttar Pradesh's Kakori town.
"The BJP and its parent organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had nothing to do with the freedom movement," a statement issued here by the Samajwadi Party quoted Yadav as saying.
He alleged that on the eve of August Kranti Diwas on Sunday, a slain soldier's wife and sons, who had gone to meet Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Agra to seek the fulfilment of announcements made for soldiers killed in the line of duty, were humiliated and driven away.
"It is a condemnable incident. How can people in the BJP know about respecting martyrs? The BJP is working against social harmony and like the British, its intention has also been to disintegrate the society. There is a need to be cautious about this," he said.
Yadav said, "The dream of the martyrs of August Kranti was to establish the rule of farmers, labourers and youth in the country so that everyone could live a life of dignity and respect and it is the responsibility of the Samajwadi Party to realise this dream."
The SP is committed to saving the constitutional values committed to ensuring a prosperous and secure life for every citizen, he said.