Eyeing a return to the throne of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Sunday accused the Narendra Modi government of “doing drama” over the Army’s surgical strikes, saying such attacks have been carried out across the line of Control (loC) in the past as well.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Sunday addressed a rally in lucknow on the 10th death anniversary of party patriarch Kanshi Ram, her mentor and founder of the party. Mayawati trained guns at BJP and Samajwadi Party and said that muslim voters should not waste their votes on SP or Congress as it would help BJP.
Targeting the BJP-led central government, Mayawati said that biased behaviour towards minorities had increased under BJP rule. She said, “Ever since the BJP government has come at the Centre, Muslims and other minorities are being subjected to bias. The minority status of Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia is being snatched away. Communal forces are becoming stronger and Muslims are being targeted in the name of love jihad, ‘gau raksha’ (cow protection) and religious conversion”.
“Muslims should not waste their vote by voting for the SP or the Congress or else it will help the BJP. Congress does not have a vote base and voting for it will also benefit BJP,” Mayawati said, adding that, ``To stop the BJP, the vote should not go to either the Samajwadi Party or the Congress as with every Assembly seat having 22 to 23 per cent dalit votes, BSP can sail through with the help of Muslim votes or else the same scenario can emerge that was seen in 2014.”
Training her guns at the Prime Minister Modi, BSP chief said “Natakbazi on surgical strikes by BJP is to divert attention of people from failure to perform on the promises made by it during the run-up to 2014 polls,”
“It is only after two-and-a-half years of coming to power that the government decided to carry out the strikes. There have been surgical strikes in the past too, but now they are using the surgical strikes to gain political mileage ahead of UP elections,” Mayawati said. She said the surgical strikes carried out by India came in too late. Reading out from a written text, the BSP chief questioned Prime Minister Modi’s assertion this was the first such task by India post-Independence saying `` this was not the first time that such surgical operations have taken place across the loC’’.
The former State Chief Minister criticised Modi for choosing to celebrate Dusshera in lucknow saying `` even while the “ashes of jawans are still warm, the Prime Minister’s visit to the capital of poll-bound UP is for his own political gains.”
Focussing most part of her speech on Prime Minister Modi and the BJP Mayawati questioned the `acche din’promises. Taking a jibe at Modi, Mayawati said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a lot of a lot of promises during his electoral campaign in 2014. He had promised to reduce poverty and give employment opportunities to people, round the clock electricity and water supply was also among his promises, nothing has been fulfilled yet’’. She added ``Modi government has only given empty promises to the people of Uttar Pradesh.”
“BJP is trying hard to convert India into a Hindu nation and are spreading communal politics in UP. Dalits across the country are being targeted in the name of gau-raksha (cow protection) and ‘love jihaad’. Atrocities against Dalits have risen today.” She demanded Centre to allow quota for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in private jobs.
Mayawati also attacked UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s government for failure in fulfilling their promises. She also took a dig at them for the failure of law and order situation in UP. Mayawati also said that BSP is confident of forming the next government in the state with an ‘absolute majority’. Further attacking Akhilesh Yadav, she said, ”Goondaraj is on a rise in UP and to bring back law and order situation in the state, people must vote for Bahujan Samaj Party.”
Mayawati also raised the 2015 Dadri incident in which a Muslim man was lynched by a mob after being suspected of consuming and storing beef at his home. Talking about the incident, Mayawati said, “Communal politics has been played in the state. Muzzafarnagar riots and Dadri incidents are proof of it.”
The rally at lucknow was held after her four regional rallies in Azamgarh, Allahabad, Saharanpur and Agra. Reportedly, all district coordinators were asked to bring 5,000-10,000 people from their areas so that the rally looks like grand success. BSP leaders also booked 20 train s from west UP and some east UP districts to ensure the huge turnout in the rally. Mayawati has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP in her rallies in the recent past with the upcoming elections. She is looking to consolidate the Dalit and Muslim vote-bank.