Lucknow, Aug. 3 -- Samajwadi Party national president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday honoured two artists dressed as Lord Ram and Bajrang Bali at the party's state headquarters. Rahul Gupta, portraying Bajrang Bali, and Aditya Valmiki, as Lord Ram, were felicitated by Yadav, who presented them with a cash award of Rs.51,000. Addressing the gathering, Yadav stated that the party had sought the blessings of Lord Ram and Hanuman. He strongly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly making an artist perform as Hanuman in front of the BJP national president's rath during his recent visit to Lucknow. Yadav described the act as a "highly condemnable" misuse of a struggling artist's talent for political ends. Clarifying that the artist himself was not at fault, Yadav noted that many performers are forced into such work due to financial hardship. He further alleged that the BJP government offers little support to artists and is opposed to creativity....