Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati demanded that the Centre should purchase the london house where Dr B R Ambedkar stayed, and convert it as a memorial as a mark of respect to great Dalit scion. She also demanded that the Delhi house of Dr Ambedkar where he breathed his last, should also be converted as a memorial. Making above demand during her 59th birthday here on Thursday, Mayawati said Dr Ambedkar stayed at the house in london in 1920-21 when he was studying at the london School of Economics. “Recently there was a report that the house is being auctioned so the NDA government at the Centre should bid in the auction and purchase it to convert it into a memorial,” she demanded. The BSP president also said that bunglow in New Delhi where Dr Ambedkar stayed till his death should also be converted as a memorial in his memory.
Meanwhile BSP workers celebrated Mayawati’s birthday as a ‘Jan Kalyankari Diwas’ (public welfare day), all over the state, on Thursday. BSP supreme, celebrated her birthday both in lucknow and New Delhi and the party supporters cut a 59 pound cake in all districts of 21 states across the country on the occasion. At the same time, Ms Mayawati sent out her message through media which was relayed through big screens installed in the BSP strongholds. The BSP leader also released 10th volume of the book ‘Mere Sangharsh ka Safarnama’, authored by Ms Mayawati, during a press conference in lucknow on Thursday afternoon. A horde of senior BSP leaders have thronged the residence of Ms Mayawati to greet her on the occasion.
Rashtriya lok Dal(RlD) Uttar Pradesh president Munna Singh Chauhan met Ms Mayawati and wished her on her birthday. Chauhan also presented a bouquet on behalf of RlD president Ajit Singh. On previous occasions, Ms Mayawati addressed a rally on her birthday, but this time she reached out to her cadre electronically. In lucknow, a programme was held in Jyotiba Phule park in Old City area. The function was presided over by Mayawati’s trusted aide Naseemuddin Siddiqui and lucknow zonal coordinator Siddharth Ashok. Sources said the party also raised funds from its workers which could be termed as a token gift to the party on her birthday. This has been the practice since BSP’s initial days. The day has over the years been observed as ‘Arthik Sahayata Diwas’.
Another copy with Mayawati
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that the NDA government was doing work for some of their ‘industrial friends’ and RSS on communal agenda while the entire country is facing miseries. Addressing a press conference here on occasion of her 59th birthday celebrations which was telecast live to all over the state where the BSP workers are organising function, Mayawati said now the BJP has started giving fake promises in the Delhi assembly elections too.
“BJP and Aam Admi Party (AAP), both are promoters of privatisation as Dalits and backwards don’t get reservations in the jobs so both the parties should be opposed in the Delhi polls,” she said. “The Centre was just bringing ordinances and orders to benefit the industrialists and the capitalists friends of the BJP,” she said while giving the reference of the decreasing prices of petroleum at the international market.”
The government did not decrease the price of the petroleum products in the retail market even after the international prices have gone down to half the rate which proves that they are not interested in giving the people any respite,” she claimed. The government was also working on the communal agenda of the RSS and other Hindu organisation just to communalise the society, she said.
Admitting that supporting the UPA government at the Centre was the reason behind the party’s debacle in the lok Sabha elections, Mayawati said,”we had supported the UPA to prevent the communal party to come to power but in the 2014 polls people rejected us along with other parties.” However, Mayawati contradicted the claim of the BJP that BSP has lost its ground in the last lok Sabha polls. “In 2009 lok Sabha elections,BSP got 1.52 crore votes in UP and in 2014 it increased to 1.60 crore. In 2014 elections BSP got 2.30 crores votes in the country and thus was the third party after BJP and Congress to get such large number of votes,” she claimed.
Mayawati said that it was a wrong myth that dalits have left the BSP and supported the BJP in the lok Sabha elections. “BJP got just 17 crore votes in the country which is just 31 per cent of the total votes polled while in UP they got 42 per cent of votes while 58 per cent rejected them,” she said. She also alleged that the present NDA government was neglecting the dalits, backwards and the religious minorities and doing nothing from them. “ Till the dalits and backwards are brought in the mainstream of the society, a country cannot develop and ignoring them would not serve any purpose for the BJP,” she said.
Meanwhile talking about revolt in the party by some handful of leaders, the BSP president clarified that these people are leaving the party for their vested interest.” They are like the dying leaves which fall from the tree during the spring season,” she quoted. However, Mayawati contradicted the charges of selling assembly and lok Sabha tickets.” We take contribution from our workers to run the party but only those people make such charges who are either denied assembly ticket or not given to their kins,” she added.
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Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) supremo Mayawati termed the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the residence of Union minister Ramvilas Paswan’s residence merely as a ‘drama’ to woo the dalit support. “The PM is just acting like the Congress yuvraj( Rahul Gandhi) by going to a dalit house and having kichri on the occasion of Makar Sankranti,” she said while addressing reporters here. Mayawati said that the dalit would only consider only those who work for them like the BSP. “Making fake promises like the PM had done in the past, would not help the BJP,” she commented. Mayawati announced that BSP would contest all the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly elections, hoping for good results. The party also launched campaigning for the Delhi elections from Thursday. She also denied any post-poll alliance at this juncture. “let the results come, then we will decide,” she added.