Akhilesh Yadav's effigy burnt in Haldwani after row over ‘infiltrator’ remark against Uttarakhand people

Members of the Pahadi Army, a regional social organisation , burnt an effigy of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Uttarakhand's Haldwani on Sunday, protesting against his remark referring to people from Uttarakhand as “infiltrators” in Uttar Pradesh.

Pahadi Army president Harish Rawat said the hill community was deeply conscious of its culture, traditions and self-respect. “Any statement hurting the community’s sentiments would be opposed democratically. The term ‘infiltrators’ is generally associated with militants and terrorists,” he said, demanding an apology from Yadav to the people of Uttarakhand. He warned that the protest could intensify in the coming days if Yadav did not apologise.

The row erupted after Yadav alleged that infiltrators had entered the contracting business and news channels through investments in the media sector and the biggest infiltrators were from Uttarakhand.

"That infiltrators have entered the contracting business. Or that infiltrators have entered the news channels. And that infiltrators have entered through investments in these channels. And then, who are the biggest infiltrators in UP? Those from Uttarakhand," he said, news agency ANI reported.

Reacting to the recent remark, Haldwani MLA Sumit Hridayesh said the people of Uttarakhand have a strong sense of self-respect. Millions of people from the state live and work across the country, contributing to its development through their hard work and talent, he said.

“It was inappropriate to describe any Indian citizen as an ‘infiltrator’ merely because they lived or worked in another state,” Hridayesh said. He urged Yadav to clarify the context of his statement, adding that if the remarks were intended to label people from Uttarakhand as infiltrators, he strongly condemned them.

The MLA said that his comments reflected his personal views and should not be interpreted as the official position of the Congress party.

BJP state spokesperson Suresh Tiwari accused Yadav of insulting the people of Uttarakhand by referring to them as “infiltrators”. Tiwari said the remark had insulted not only people from Uttarakhand living in Uttar Pradesh but also those residing in other states. The BJP has condemned the statement and demanded that Yadav issue a public apology, he said.

Commenting on the Congress’s response, Tiwari said the Congress and the Samajwadi Party were “cut from the same cloth” as both were part of the I-N-D-I-A alliance. He alleged that the Congress had responded cautiously to Yadav’s remarks for electoral gains in Uttarakhand.

Tiwari said Congress leaders should have taken a firm and unequivocal stand in defence of the state’s honour rather than using measured language for political considerations.