Posters showing Samajwadi Party leaders wearing skull caps appeared across Uttar Pradesh on July 15, prompting accusations between the opposition SP and the ruling BJP.
The posters depicted SP president Akhilesh Yadav and the late party founder Mulayam Singh wearing skull caps. They included slogans such as ‘Dil mein Babar, munh mein Ram’. SP workers removed the posters in areas including Sitapur and Dhaurahra.
SP MP Anand Bhadauria accused the Uttar Pradesh Information Department of placing the posters at the BJP government’s direction. SP spokesperson Sunil Singh Yadav ‘Sajan’ said the move aimed to divert attention from issues including corruption and unemployment.
The Congress party stated that the BJP sought to communalise the atmosphere ahead of next year’s Assembly election. BJP leader Dinesh Dubey said the posters reflected public frustration with SP’s past policies and that ordinary people, not the party, had placed them. Police in Mathura registered a case regarding the posters.
