Congress' memory has weakened, says UP Minister Gangwar on Udit Raj's caste jibe

Lucknow, July 17 Uttar Pradesh Minister Sanjay Gangwar on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the Congress for raking up the caste issue time and again for its "vested" interests.

Taking aim at the Congress and its 'Yuvraj' (an apparent reference to Congress scion and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi), Minister of State for Sugarcane Development and Sugar Mills Gangwar said that the party's memory has weakened.

Minister Gangwar's remark came two days after Congress leader Udit Raj stirred a row by questioning the government's "partisan" approach in picking astronauts, and "depriving" Dalits of the privilege "despite there being many educated" candidates.

After hailing astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's achievements, Udit Raj said people from backward communities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were being denied a similar opportunity.

"When Rakesh Sharma was sent for the first time, there were not many educated people from SC/ST/OBC communities. But this time, someone could have been sent from these communities. There was no exam for this; it was purely a government selection," Udit Raj had pointed out.

Hitting back at the Congress, Minister Gangwar asserted that the BJP works with the mantra of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwaas' and reminded the grand old party that President Droupadi Murmu belongs to the Adivasi community and former President Ram Nath Kovind hailed from the Dalit community.

He accused the Congress of "dividing" the country, the Army and jawans on the basis of caste and described it as a "living example of the grand old party's cheap mentality".

Udit Raj's remark drew ire from a Congress leader too. Congress MP from Bihar, Manoj Kumar, cautioned Udit Raj against the politicisation of issues of national and strategic importance.

BJP leader Ram Kadam slammed the Congress leader, saying that such assignments require intellectual ability and professional acumen, and caste has no role to play in such space programmes.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying Shukla and three other astronauts on the Axiom-4 Mission, landed in the Pacific off the Southern California coast on July 15.

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