SP chief Akhilesh Yadav (ANI)
NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday hit out at the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government’s directive to remove caste references from police records and public notices, saying it reflected the ruling party’s “fear” of PDA communities uniting against it.“From police stations to administrative offices, discrimination has taken place on the basis of caste and religion. The BJP has ensured postings go to its own caste-dominated people. Today, the BJP is afraid of PDA unity,” PTI quoted Yadav as saying. PDA—an acronym for “Pichda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak” (backward classes, Dalits, minorities)—is a political construct coined and frequently invoked by Yadav, who insists these groups together can defeat the BJP.The former chief minister conceded the government’s order follows an Allahabad high court judgment but argued that caste remains the “first emotional bond” in society. “Netaji (his father Mulayam Singh Yadav) also kept struggling for this. At different times, in the name of Bahujan Samaj, we all came together,” he added.Yadav alleged that in Gorakhpur, chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s stronghold, most postings have gone to people of “one caste.” “Even in the UP STF, caste is the primary factor. Contracts at the headquarters have also been given to one caste. Only when the court intervened has this government been forced to act,” the Kannauj MP claimed.On Sunday, the state government banned caste-based rallies and public events with “political motives,” warning that social media content glorifying caste pride or promoting hatred would be closely monitored. According to a senior official, the order—circulated to all police units and district administrations—was issued in compliance with the Allahabad high court’s September 16 verdict in the Praveen Chetri vs State of UP case. The ruling barred police from mentioning caste in case records and directed the state to prevent caste glorification in public and digital spaces. Following the order, officiating chief secretary Deepak Kumar instructed that caste of accused persons must not be recorded in FIRs, case memos, arrest documents, or on police station notice boards. The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) portal will also be updated to delete caste fields; until then, officials have been told to leave them blank.The order also mandates recording both father’s and mother’s names of accused persons, challaning vehicles carrying caste-based stickers or slogans under the Motor Vehicles Act, and removing boards or signs in towns and villages that glorify caste identities.
