Amid Ramcharitmanas row, SP releases song equating Mulayam with god

The songs were recorded in Mumbai and the videos shot at Lucknow’s Janeshwar Mishra Park, which was developed when Akhilesh was the CM.

The five-minute aarti to Mulayam has been written and sung by Kashi Nath Yadav, a Birha folk singer who is the working national president of the SP’s cultural cell and a former MLC. Hailing Mulayam, it says: “Jai ho Netaji ki jai, bhage darr aur bhay, jai ho Neta ji ki jai (Salute to Netaji, whose name can chase away one’s fears)”.

Kashi Nath goes on to equate Mulayam with Lord Brahma and Vishnu “for nurturing people of all sections of society”, including in politics, and with Lord Shiva for “wreaking havoc” on the battlefield. “Rachna mein Brahma se aage, Vishnu jas paalan me laage, rann me Shiv sa parlay (He is ahead of Brahma in creation, and of Vishnu in nurturing the world, while in the battlefield, he can be the destroyer),” the song says, with Kashi Nath explaining that the last was a reference to Mulayam’s role as Defence Minister, when he saw to it that the Army give a befitting reply to Pakistan on the border.

The song further compares the SP founder to god, saying:“Gita tum, aur tum Ramayan, Ram, Krishna tum, tum hi Narayan (You are Gita, you are Ramayan, you are Ram, Krishna and Narayan).”

Mulayam is “greater than a deity”, Kashi Nath says. “We have not seen god but Netaji. He worked for the benefit of people. Every family in UP benefited from the schemes and programmes of his government.”

The song on Akhilesh, released at the SP headquarters, refers to him as “Chhotey Netaji (Little Netaji)”, calls him a young leader full of heart and enthusiasm, and says: “Akhileshji to chhotey netaji hain yaaron, abhi tumne jee bhar ke dekha nahin hai (Akhilesh is just a younger Mulayam, you just haven’t seen it yet)”.

The song compares Akhilesh to Bhishma and Karna, two characters from the Mahabharata, and calls him a “divya desh premi (divine patriot)”, saying: “Netaji sa chehra inka, dekho tasveer ko. Lohia si soch, dekh gareebi ke pir ko. Jale agnijwala sa, vijeta hai yaaro (He looks like Netaji, thinks like the messiah of the poor Ram Manohar Lohia. And he burns like fire, for a winner he is).”

Asked about the aarti comparing Mulayam to god, SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said he had not heard or watched the entire song. “Kashi Nath is a former party MLC who has his own production house. He has made videos on his personal initiative,” he said, while adding that the party will be using the songs and videos in its events and campaigns.

Kashi Nath says he decided to write the aarti on Mulayam after his death in October last year. “Soon, Netaji’s temples would be built,” he adds.

Belonging to Ghazipur district, Kashi Nath entered politics as a member of the UP Legislative Council on the BSP symbol in 1994. He was re-elected as MLC in 2000 and 2006 as an SP candidate.

Earlier, Swami Prasad Maurya had sparked off a controversy by supporting remarks by a Bihar minister that some portions of the Ramcharitmanas were objectionable for what they said about certain castes.