Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that Bharatiya Janata Party was the saviour of Dalits in true sense because it never treated people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as vote bank and always worked for their betterment.

“In his four-and-half-year rule, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proved that he is the true friend of Dalits. He is doing whatever is possible for the uplift of Dalits also because the BJP is the only party in India which does not believe in caste and works for the betterment of each and every individual,” Yogi said while inaugurating the state working committee meeting of the Anusuchit Morcha of the party in Agra on Sunday.

Yogi said the BJP had given respect to Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar while other parties have used him for votes. “He got Bharat Ratna during the BJP regime. It was the BJP government which transformed five places associated with Dr Ambedkar as places of pilgrimage. Has any government ever thought in this direction?” Yogi said.

“I am a true friend of Dalits. As Member of Parliament, I have fought many a battle for the self-respect of Dalits and as Chief Minister I have taken many decisions which will help in restoring pride of Dalits,” he said.

In his over an hour-long speech, Yogi talked about the achievements of his government, including improvement in infrastructure which includes roads and law and order. 

“My government has taken forward the recruitment process in police department.  Announcement has been made to recruit 51,000 new constables. This government is alive to the problems that policemen are facing. We know that they are not getting leaves. My government is working to redress this problem,” he said.

In the working committee meeting, nine decisions were taken that include improving party’s reach among the under-privileged section of society.

The party leaders were asked to go to the Dalit-dominated regions to ensure that they were getting benefits of government schemes. The party leaders were asked to ensure that those not getting the benefits were enrolled in the schemes.