Azamgarh: Far-right-wing extremists targeted the daughter of Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav after he raised concerns regarding the allegations that crores of rupees offered to the Ram Mandir went missing.
What followed the claim was a bizarre turn of events with Hindutva elements choosing to target Yadav’s daughter with baseless claims.
Yadav wrote that the reports of crores missing from Ram Mandir’s offerings were an “utterly shameful situation for the temple trust.” He slammed the government for being silent on the issue and asked the court to take suo motu cognisance of the case, as it was a sensitive matter directly linked to Lord Ram.
Also ReadRam temple donation funds missing, claims Akhilesh Yadav
Days after the post was uploaded on X, Deepika Rastogi, believed to be associated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, levelled malicious allegations against Yadav’s daughter.
“Akhilesh Yadav is talking about the 7 crore theft in Ram Mandir while his daughter has committed a crime in London,” Rastogi wrote on X. “According to sources, she stole Rs 7 crore from her home and is living with her Muslim Nigerian friend, Lamidi, in Nigeria.”
Deepika Rastogi’s post that has now been deleted
Rastogi shared pictures of Yadav’s daughter and the alleged Nigerian friend, which online sleuths traced back to stock images. Users also shared that her personal profile on the social media platform was clearly aligned with the saffron party. “Mahakal, Shiv hi jivan Shiv hi satya, sanatan hi satya,” were some of the statements written in the profile.
Rastogi’s X profile
Following the claims, multiple right-wing accounts began circulating similar claims with images generated by artificial intelligence (AI) showing Yadav’s daughter with her “Nigerian friend.”
Another user, Bharatkumar Patel, shared the same message on Facebook. Both individuals have since deleted their accounts.
Bharatkumar Patel’s Facebook post
No daughter should face such comments: Yogi
The issue gained widespread attention, with even the state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath taking a stance against slandering “daughters.”
Adityanath on Saturday condemned the derogatory remarks made on Yadav’s daughter, adding that such comments against any daughter were unacceptable.
He said police action should be taken in the case but also suggested that Yadav “reign in” his party workers before they make remarks against others.
Addressing a gathering in Azamgarh, Adityanath said he directed police to register a first information report (FIR) as soon as the matter came to his notice.
“I was seeing recently that some people were making comments on social media against the daughter of Akhilesh Yadav ji. As soon as it came to my notice, I immediately told the police to register an FIR against it,” he said.
The chief minister said daughters should not be targeted and society should maintain dignity in public discourse.
“A daughter is a daughter. We have grown up with the values that the daughter in a village is everyone’s daughter and the sister in a village is everyone’s sister. We have never made any distinction,” he said.
Police in some districts, including Kanpur, have initiated action and registered cases in connection with the matter.
CM points blame to Yadav’s supporters
Taking a dig at the Samajwadi Party chief, Adityanath said, “Akhilesh ji, you give advice to others, but also advise your followers and workers to keep their language restrained.”
He said people should think before making remarks about others and reflect on the kind of language being used against women, elderly people, deceased persons and senior leaders.
“You also need to teach your people. It would be better if you make them understand, and if they cannot understand, hand them over to us, we will make them understand properly,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News, Technology, Entertainment, Sports, Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS.
