Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian Savitri Bai Phule resigned from the party on Thursday, saying it was trying to “create divisions in society”, ANI reported. She represents Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha.
Phule’s resignation comes two days after she criticised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath for saying that Hindu god Hanuman was a Dalit. At an election rally in Rajasthan last week, Adityanath had said: “Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit.”
Responding to Adityanath’s remark, Phule had said if Hanuman was a Dalit then Dalits should be appointed priests in all Hanuman temples across the country, reported the Hindustan Times. She alleged that Dalits and people from backward communities are often called “bandar [monkey]” and “rakshas [demon]”,The Indian Express had reported.
“If he [Adityanath] really loves Dalits then he should love them more than he loves Lord Hanuman,” she had said. “Has he ever embraced any Dalit?”
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