Lucknow: Raja Ram Yadav, the Vice-Chancellor of Purvanchal University who sparked a massive controversy on Friday by calling upon students to get into fights and even commit murders, is an "RSS pracharak" and has close links with senior BJP leaders.

In a message posted on Facebook on March 23, 2017, Yadav says he’s been part of the RSS since 1990. He shares a close bond with UP’s Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya who has served as a Sangathan Mantrin Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the past.

“Apne Keshavji ke Deputy Chief Minister banane par mai behad Khush hu. Mujhe Anirbachaniya anand ho raha hai. Kyo na ho bhai 1990 se mai RSS ka pracharak vo VHP ke Sangathan Mantri dono kande se kandha milakar karya kia hai (sic). I’m very happy that Keshav ji has been made the Deputy Chief Minister. I’ve been an RSS pracharak since 1991 and he has been part of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and we’ve both worked closely together, ” the post reads.

Yadav adds that he suffered deep trauma after the demise of former VHP chief Ashok Singhal and it was Maurya who consoled him. "Mujhe gahara sadma laga, Keshavji hi the jinhone mujhe chhote bhai ke nate pakarkar gale se lagaya aur mujhe yisa mahasus hua ki jaise vo kaha rahe hai ki Bhai sahab nahi hai hai lekin bhai sahab aapke liye mujhe bata gaye hai. aur kaha mai to hu (sic). (I was very affected by the demise of former VHP chief Ashok Singhal. It was Keshav ji who consoled me like an elder brother and said that he will be there for me now that one brother is gone."

In another post on March 12 last year, he wishes Maurya on his appointment as the Chief Minister of the state. Then on March 23, he drops a message in favour of Yogi Adityanath, saying the UP Chief Minister has been blessed by the “pujya sanyasi” (hermit) and “mahant” (chief priest) and his life is shaped by the seers. At the end of his post he writes, “Aaj Mai Pujya Yogi Aditya Nath Ji Ke Chief Minister Banane par behad Khusa hu. Vo aise Chief Minister Hai ki unake mai Charan Sparsh kar sakunga. Kyo ki ve Sanyasi evam Mahant hai. Mahant Ji Ki Jai Ho (sic)”.

Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Mahoba district in 1957, Yadav’s is a known name in Allahabad University’s physics department, as this was his field of work before being made V-C by UP Governor Ram Naik in 2017 — within a month of BJP coming to power in 2017.

In a video that has now gone viral, Yadav’s remarks appeared to encourage students to not hesitate in murdering someone they have an argument with. "Agar aap Purvanchal Vishwavidyalaya ke chhatra ho to rote huye kabhi mere paas mat aana. Agar kisi se jhagda ho jaye to uski pitayee karke aana, agar tumhara bas chale to uska murder karke aana, baad mein hum dekh lenge (If you are a student of Purvanchal University never come to me crying. If you get into a fight with someone, beat him, even kill him if you can, and then come, we will handle the matter)," Yadav is heard saying.

Slamming Yadav for “inciting violence”, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said, “The vice-chancellor must be booked for inciting and provoking students to indulge in criminal activities. He is not behaving like a vice-chancellor but as the warlord of a criminal gang. We cannot expect academic excellence from such criminal-minded people. He should be sacked for making such statements.”

Congress Spokesperson Anshu Awasthi, too, demanded that Yadav be sacked from his post immediately, “If a V-C level person will say such things, what will the students do? I think he should be sacked immediately. Already, the law and order situation is at an all-time low in the state. Action should be taken against him.”

BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said, "The viral video can definitely not be justified, but only Yadav can give clarification on why and in what context the statement was given."