Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati on Wednesday charged Bharatiya Janta Party leaders of indulging in cheap politics over singing of national song or anthem.
"The BSP and it’s leaders have full respect for both the national song and anthem,” she clarified reacting to BJP leaders demand of clarifying the BSP stand on singing the national song at a oath-taking ceremony of corporators at Aligarh and Meerut municipal corporations.
Referring to BSP Mayor of Meerut, Sunita Verma who was accused by BJP of not showing respect to national song and not standing up when it was played at her oath ceremony on Tuesday, Maaywati said, "At Verma's swearing-in ceremony, BJP leadrs and supporters hijacked the programme and also raised anti-BSP slogans."
Instead of making oath ceremonies a battle ground, the government should leave the functions to be managed by officials concerned. "Instead, the BJP workers made it a battleground and raised slogans. It was a melee and the Mayor-elect was not told that the national song was being played. By creating disorder, an effort was made to malign the BSP," she said.
"If the PM residence was used like Raj Bhavan for activities of the BJP and the RSS, then why would BJP workers not make the national song and anthem political issues, as was witnessed
during the oath functions of winners of civic poll atthe t wo cities," she asked.
"The BJP is engaging in cheap politics even during and after civic poll. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi was indugling in discrimination between Mayors and just invited Mayors from the BJP for an exclusive party in New Delhi," she said.
"We have no problem if the BJP mayors have been felicitated at BJP headquarters. But Modi took to cheap politics by organising the ceremony at the PM's official residence," she said in a statement issued in lucknow on Wednesday.