Facing heat over the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report questioning the unrealistic expenditure in the construction of memorials and parks during the Mayawati regime, the Bahujan Samaj Party has decided to stage a massive demonstration for the first time in this decade in front of Vidhan Bhawan on Monday.
The BSP always avoided demonstrations and went for big rallies in the past. Through this demonstration, besides protesting the CAG report, the BSP will try to nail the Centre for inflation and hikes in rail fare and prices of petrol and diesel, and the state Government for bad law and order, and the power crisis.
BSP national general secretary and leader of the Opposition in UP Assembly, Swami Prasad Maurya, told reporters here that the demonstration would be historic and almost all senior leaders of the party would participate in it. However, BSP chief Mayawati will not lead the agitation due to her prior engagement in Parliament.
The decision to stage the dharna-cum-demonstration was taken as the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress are holding protests on routine basis. Two days back, the Samajwadi Party had staged protest against rail fare hike.
“Our protest will highlight people’s issues and negate the canard being spread by other parties against BSP,” Maurya said. The last dharna that the BSP had staged in the state was to protest the vandalism at Ambedkar Park in lucknow’s Gomti Nagar area in which party chief Mayawati’s statue was damaged in 2012.
Meanwhile, Maurya said the law and order in the state was completely out of control as ‘goonda raj’ prevailed in the present Samajwadi Party rule in the state.
The BSP leader said that their party chief had repeatedly demanded imposition of President’s rule in the state in view of the deteriorating law and order and rise in crime against women. He said the rising prices, and hikes in rail fare and petrol, diesel prices was creating problems for the common man.
The demonstration announced by the BSP could be an added problem for the lucknow district authorities who are facing regular protests by the BJP during the ongoing budget session of the state legislature. Along with the BSP demonstration, BJP too will stage a dharna in front of Vidhan Bhawan on Monday.