Protestors hurled tomatoes and eggs at the home of Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar in Lucknow’s Hazratganj area on Saturday for claiming that people who belong to the Rajput and Yadav communities drink more alcohol than others, PTI reported.
“The maximum blame is put on Rajbhars, but the maximum liquor is consumed by Yadavs and Rajputs,” the minister said in Varanasi on Friday. He was reportedly arguing against drinking. “This is their ancestral business.”
“If you want to know the pain, ask any mother, sister or wife to whose homes their loved ones come drunk,” he added. Rajbhar is the the minister of the Department of Backward Classes Welfare and the Department of Disabled People Development. He heads the Suheldev Bharatiya Party, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh.
“Rajbhar also drinks, and so do the Chauhan, Lohar, Kumhar and people of every other caste,” Rajbhar said, according to NDTV. “I understand that pain and have been saying for the last 15 years that alcohol should be banned.” The Lucknow Police said they have not yet arrested or detained anyone but added that they will conduct an investigation.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav criticised Rajbhar for selectively talking about some castes and just alcohol. Yadav said campaigns should be run against the consumption of other intoxicants such as tobacco and marijuana as well.
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