Lucknow, Feb 18 (PTI) A controversy erupted on Tuesday over Congress leader and former Lok Sabha MP Udit Raj's remarks that BSP chief Mayawati has "strangled the social movement and now the time has come to strangle her", with the BSP demanding his arrest.

Giving references to Mahabharat, Raj told reporters in Lucknow on Monday that "during the Mahabharat war, Arjun asked Lord Krishna how he will kill his cousins and relatives. Lord Krishna said that there are no cousins and relatives, fight for justice and kill your own people".

"Today, my 'Krishna' has told me that first kill your enemy. And, the enemy of social justice, that Ms Mayawati, who strangled the social movement...now time has come to strangle her," he added.

Responding to questions about his remarks, Raj told PTI on Tuesday, "The movement of the Bahujan community was strangled...crores of cadres, who built the party by staying hungry and thirsty...this Bahujan movement was strangled by her (Mayawati)." "On this, when the media asked me questions (on Monday), I said that definitely, she too should be strangled politically. What I meant was political death and nothing else," Raj clarified.

"To twist and tweak the entire thing is not right. Political death or murder of democracy are commonly referred to during political mentions and are taken in that light. Not otherwise," he added.

On Tuesday, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati hit out at the Congress, saying that they have disrespected Bhimrao Ambedkar's policies and they cannot be trusted to be true to them.

In a post on X, the former chief minister said, "The Congress party, especially, which has disdained at every level the humanitarian struggle of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar for self-respect and self-esteem of millions of exploited and oppressed Dalits/Bahujans, even during his lifetime and after his death, can never be true and trustworthy to his thinking and policies." The BSP chief also said that "the Bahujan Samaj needs to be cautious of some party-changing opportunists and selfish Dalits who keep making baseless statements etc. to please their masters and should not take them seriously because they are ignorant and unfamiliar with the 'social change and economic liberation' movement." Calling Udit Raj a "sycophant" of the Congress and the BJP, BSP leader Akash Anand sought strict action against his threats to "strangle" Mayawati.

In a post on X, Anand said, "He is threatening to "strangle" respected sister Miss Mayawati ji. I want to clearly tell @uppolice that these criminals should be arrested within 24 hours and strict action should be taken under the law. Otherwise the Bahujan youth of the country is not going to sit quiet, I know very well how to teach them a lesson." He accused Raj of "looking for opportunities in other parties for his own selfish gains".

"He is concerned about the Bahujan Movement only so that he can become an MP or MLA by doing 'chamchagiri' (flattery) of some party. This has nothing to do with the upliftment of the Bahujan society," Anand claimed.

When asked about a viral video in which he is heard justifying "galaa ghot dena chahiiye" remark, Raj said on Tuesday, "Former judge of Allahabad High Court Justice Sabhajit Yadav, the patron of Dalit, OBC, Minorities and Adivasi (DOMA) Parisangh, was also present with me. Referring to me he had said 'I have found my Arjun.

"In response, I told him he was our 'Krishna'... This was the context of my remark and my Krishna analogy. But it is being tweaked now." Later, in a post on X, Raj said, "On 17 February, while answering a question in a press conference in Lucknow in the presence of Justice Sabhajit Yadav, I said that the time has come to strangle Ms. Mayawati who is strangling the Bahujan movement. At the same time, I said that this is an example. Then I clarified that swords and spears were used in the Mahabharat era, not now." "The language of killing is BJP's, not ours. Justice Sabhajit Yadav clarified that he himself called me Arjun as a symbol. Stop making a small part of the video viral and spreading lies. The truth comes out by watching the full video," the Congress leader said on X.

Raj had also said on Monday that the "Muslim community is going through the same phase today as the Dalits were in a bad condition once".

"After the 1980s, Kanshiram ji started Bahujan awakening in Uttar Pradesh, which reached its peak in the 2000s. Even though the movement culminated in politics, the thinking and basis has been social justice," he had said.

"Other political parties start with politics and end with it, but this was not the case with the Bahujan Samaj Party," he added.

Attacking Mayawati, the former Lok Sabha MP said, "Despite Ms. Mayawati's cruelty and incompetence, the workers and voters kept fighting. The houses of the workers were sold, their children could not get education and they were treated cruelly, yet they kept on struggling to bring Bahujan Raj." He said that on December 1, 2024, the first rally of DOMA Parisangh was held at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan in which the demand to save the Waqf Board was raised.

Raj currently heads the Dalit, OBC, Minorities and Adivasi (DOMA) Parisangh.

Urging the Ambedkarites to come together, he said, "The so-called Ambedkarites could not even break the caste system, at least stop casteism and caste organization. Till when will you keep gathering people by speaking against Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Today's need is to change yourself. Hindus are united by speaking against Muslims and Dalit-backward classes by criticizing upper castes. Stop following this path." "Lord Gautam Buddha had said - Atta Deepo Bhava. It means that change your own thinking. Dalits and backward classes want the upper castes to change themselves, but they keep doing casteism among themselves," he added.

Commenting on organisations of the Bahujans, he said, "Till now the organisations of Bahujans formed have been based on individuals and castes.

"The population is 85 per cent, but do all classes have a share in the organisation from top to bottom? Those running the organisation appoint people of their own caste and their friends to important positions and say that they are doing the welfare of Bahujans," he said.

"In the organizational structure of DOMA Parisangh, it will be mandatory to have four people - one Dalit, one OBC, one Muslim and one Adivasi at every level. Bahujan is not just in name, but will have to be shown by action," he added.

The former Lok Sabha MP further said it has been decided to hold six conferences in Jhansi, Banda, Shravasti, Kanpur, Meerut and Azamgarh in the coming days.

Udit Raj was a Lok Sabha MP between 2014 and 2019, representing North West Delhi as a member of the BJP, but left the party after its first term. He later joined the Congress in 2019.

He was the former deputy commissioner, joint commissioner and additional commissioner of Income Tax at New Delhi.

On November 24, 2003, he resigned from government service and formed the Indian Justice Party. He merged his party with the BJP in February 2014. PTI NAV MAN KVK KVK