Akhilesh Yadav questions 'Pichda Dalit Alpsankhyak' representation in UP's police stations

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav kicked up a storm by alleging that other castes like the Thakurs were getting more postings than those belonging to the Pichda Dalit Alpsankhyak (PDA) category- a charge which the state’s Director General of Police has dismissed.

On Monday afternoon, Akhilesh Yadav posted a bar diagram on his X account depicting the PDA component in the posts of Station House Officers and Station Officers in Prayagraj. According to the chart, of the 44 posts- 19 had gone to other castes; 14 to Singhs (Thakur) and just 11 to those from the PDA communities. He called this the ‘proportional injustice’ being meted out to PDA, pointing out that though they formed 90 per cent of the population, the occupied just 25 per cent of the posts.  

DGP Prashant Kumar, without naming Yadav said that "whatever information" was floating on social media was completely wrong. He also said that people in responsible positions should refrain from making such statements.

Meanwhile, the official X handle of the Police Commissioner of Prayagraj also commented on Yadav’s post. The reply said that appointments of police station in-charges in the district were done based on dedication, truthfulness, and sensitivity towards the public. The selection process was transparent, it said, while claiming that 40 per cent in-charges were from the OBC and SC/ST categories.

Elsewhere, Yadav continued his tirade. In Prayagraj, he told the media that in the total of 48 police stations of Agra, only 15 SHOs are from the PDA communities, while all the rest are ‘Singh bhai log’. This is a direct jibe at the Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, who is also a Thakur.  

Yadav also said that in Mainpuri, only 3 of the 15 SHOs are from the PDA communities. In Chitrakoot, the number is two out of 10, while in Mahoba it is one out of 11.

He said that this was the government’s version of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.