Uttar Pradesh: Congress Leader Jitin Prasada Says Brahmins Are Persecuted Under Current Government, Props Up 'Brahmin Chetna Parishad'

Uttar Pradesh Congress party leader Jitin Prasada has claimed that Brahmins are feeling persecuted under the current government. The finger, understandably, is pointed towards Yogi Adityanath.

Senior leader Jitin Prasada, who is the son of former Congress leader Jitendra Prasada, is keen on a dialogue with the state's Brahmin community through the 'Brahmin Chetna Parishad' in each district.

Prasada has said that he is making efforts to unite the Brahmins, who have been persecuted in Uttar Pradesh, and are facing atrocities.

The development comes at a time when Kanpur gangster Vikas Dubey is being chased by the Uttar Pradesh police for his involvement in the killing of eight policemen in Kanpur. Dubey has been on the run.

His close aide Amar Dubey was killed in an encounter by UP Special Task Force in Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh in coordination with a local police unit earlier today (Wednesday).

Prasada has issued a statement on the letterhead of 'Brahman Chetna Parishad', saying that a decision has been taken to create a dialogue through social media platforms towards uniting Brahmins. The report mentions him saying that he was the convenor of the Parishad.

Prasada said, "It (Brahman Chetna Parishad) was launched during the 2017 UP Vidhan Sabha elections and had held Brahman sammelans in Lucknow and Kanpur and had taken out Brahman yatras in Basti, Pratapgarh, Amethi and Allahabad."

Prasada was asked by the media if he had consulted his party for initiating the programme. He said that the Parishad "had nothing to do with the Congress party." He has been quoted saying: "I am doing what I think is right."

The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee seems to be distancing itself from Prasada's move. The UPCC president Ajay Kumar Lallu has reportedly said that "it is Prasada's personal issue and that he had nothing to say about the outfit."

Prasada has said that "there is a threat to the existence of the Brahmin community" in the state.

Prasada described the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh as "dismal". He has said that Brahmins "are being targeted".

"The community is being made to struggle for justice and is facing step-motherly treatment. It's being deprived of its rights and the need of the hour is to unite and fight for its identity."

Earlier, the Congress tried to woo Brahimns in Madhya Pradesh before the state went to assembly elections. In the Yogi Adityanath ruled state, the party is making efforts to get closer to the community which was seen welcoming the upsurge of BJP in the state, particularly in 2017.

The Parishad was launched in the election year in UP and the move did not sting the BJP in the assembly elections.

The Congress, with senior leader Priyanaka Gandhi Vadra and now Jiten Prasada seems to be upping its efforts to corner UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Adityanath is currently engrossed in leading the fight against Covid 19 and strengthening policies and measures to create better lives and employment opportunities for the returning migrants to the state.

Congress has been consistent in its attacks on Adityanath on matters related to the fight against Covid 19, law and order and caste.

As the calendar slowly moves towards 2022, the Congress seems prepared to raise its pitch on the status of Brahmins in the Adityanath-ruled state.

“In the past 20 days, at least 19 persons from the community have died. There is a bias against the community across all platforms, and there is absolutely no help from the government. Even ruling party MLAs and MPs are feeling suffocated", Jiten Prasada is quoted as saying.