Samajbadi party distances itself from India Bloc on Neha Bora’s chastist remark

PABITRA BANERJEE: Congress’s key ally, Samajwadi Party, has unequivocally distanced itself from the “Brahmanvaad” remark of Left-wing student leader Neha Bora. The AISA president, under the patronage of INDIA bloc leaders, gained limelight for fiercely criticising the poll body chief Gyanesh Kumar and the electoral roll purge under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). On Bora’s “need freedom from Brahmanvaad” remark, Samajwadi Party’s Rajeev Rai said: “Making such a sweeping statement is not appropriate. Every religion has both good and bad people; we shouldn’t make such generalisations… We should avoid them. That is exactly what the BJP wants; why should we fall into their trap?” Rai, who represents the Ghosi Lok Sabha constituency in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, firmly repudiated the AISA leader’s rhetoric riddled with “sweeping generalisations”. “In this day and age, the kind of rhetoric being used is simply unacceptable. There is no basis for it. We shouldn’t make sweeping generalisations about any caste, community, religion, or region,” he said. The controversy erupted after videos circulated online featuring the Left activist making sweeping remarks, drawing sharp criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP leaders mounted a scathing attack on the Opposition, alleging that such rhetoric exposes an underlying anti-Hindu sentiment and accusing Left-leaning student groups of promoting division. With the opposition alliance attempting to maintain a unified front following recent demonstrations across the capital, several key allies have sought to draw a clear line between political resistance against administrative policies and rhetoric targeting specific social or religious communities. SP leaders emphasized that political debates should remain strictly focused on constitutional rights, electoral transparency, and institutional accountability.