Akhilesh Yadav’s ‘beneath the desk’ dig at Dhirendra Shastri amid kathavachak row

Akhilesh Yadav’s remarks got here amid an ongoing uproar over the alleged humiliation of two Bhagavat ‘kathavachaks’ (non secular storyteller) of the Yadav neighborhood in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah district.

“There are many Kathavachaks who charge ₹50 lakh. Can anyone invite Dhirendra Shastri to their home for a katha? That baba will take money under the table. Please find out if he does or not. I’m sure he doesn’t do it for free,” Akhilesh Yadav could be heard saying in a video going viral.

Dhirendra Shastri is a self-styled non secular preacher who turned a sensation over the previous years. Until the time of penning this report, there was no response from Dhirendra Shastri on Akhilesh Yadav’s remarks.

Row over kathavachaks

Violence erupted in Etawah’s Dandarpur village final week after two kathavachaks have been allegedly humiliated, tonsured and compelled to rub their noses on the toes of girls, after villagers came upon that they weren’t Brahmins.

However, villagers alleged that the kathavachaks had hid their identification when discussions have been underway for his or her discourse within the space.

According to an organiser who filed an FIR in opposition to the 2 kathavachaks, had their caste identification been disclosed earlier, they might not have been engaged.

Reacting to the incident, Akhilesh Yadav had lashed out on the BJP, saying the get together was making an attempt to divide Uttar Pradesh alongside caste traces.

“The BJP is deploying its ‘planted people’ with strategic surnames from neighbouring states to carry out its infiltrative politics and disturb social harmony in Uttar Pradesh,” Yadav was quoted as saying by information company PTI.

The incident had triggered widespread protests by members of the ‘Ahir Regiment’, a socio-cultural physique.

Violence erupted after members of the physique protested exterior the Bakewar police station and shouted slogans. While some have been dispersed by the cops, others engaged in a heated trade with safety personnel, resulting in violence.

“The power acted with restraint and reinforcement was referred to as in,” stated circle officer Atul Pradhan. Six individuals have been detained in reference to the case.