‘Will you burn SP-Congress’ Lanka?’: UP minister Rajbhar’s remarks at govt event spark row

Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar's remarks urging newly appointed Gram Panchayat Officers to campaign against the Samajwadi Party and Congress ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections have triggered a political row.

Addressing a programme in Lucknow where appointment letters were distributed to 1,375 newly selected Gram Panchayat Officers, Rajbhar invoked Lord Hanuman's burning of Lanka in the Ramayana while asking the recruits whether they would help defeat the two opposition parties.

“Akele Hanuman ji Lanka jala ke aa gaye the... aap bataiye to Samajwadi Party aur Congress ki Lanka jalaoge ya nahin jalaoge?”

Rajbhar, who heads BJP ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), urged the recruits to publicise the work of the Yogi Adityanath government when they joined their postings in different districts.

He asked them to tell people that government jobs were being provided without payment of money and to campaign for Adityanath to become chief minister for a third term.

Rajbhar subsequently asked how many of those present would publicise the message, with almost all those seated on the other side of the stage raising their hands.

Taking the reference further, he said Hanuman had first assessed Ravana's strength before returning to Lord Ram, and compared the 1,375 recruits with Hanuman's task.

“You are 1,375 people here. Tell me, will you burn the Lanka of the Samajwadi Party and Congress or not?”

Rajbhar added that he alone kept “setting fire to their Lanka” every day.

The minister also described the SP and Congress as parties that opposed the government without offering ideas. He urged voters to ensure that the strength of the two parties was reduced in the 2027 elections.

His remarks drew criticism from the Congress and SP, which accused him of using a government programme to target political rivals.

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai questioned whether the event was a government programme or a political rally, saying it was inappropriate to ask people beginning government service to target political parties.

Rajbhar, who holds the Panchayati Raj portfolio as well as Minority Welfare, Muslim Waqf and Haj, also highlighted what he described as changes under the Yogi Adityanath government, including improved connectivity, village digital libraries and development works.

He claimed that government jobs were now being given without payment and asked the newly appointed officers to publicise the government's record.

Rajbhar also criticised opposition parties for questioning the government's performance, saying their “glasses” had become weak and prevented them from seeing development.

He further claimed that the proportion of girls studying had risen from around 40 per cent a decade ago to 100 per cent under Adityanath, and said villages had witnessed more development over the past decade than in previous years.

The minister also described SP and Congress workers as “dead people” who, he said, did not engage in politics based on ideas and instead practised opposition and hatred. He said people wanted “brotherhood and mutual harmony”.

The remarks come months before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, which are scheduled for 2027.