Giving a jolt to the efforts of forming a grand secular alliance, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati clarified that her party would not participate in the Mahagathbandan rally in Patna on August 27.
The rally has been organised by Rashtriya Janata Dal president lalu Prasad to bring all secular parties under one umbrella and throw out the Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) from the Centre in 2019.
“We are not opposed to the secular unity, but the BSP will only share dais with secular parties only after seats they would contest in the elections were announced. The way things are going, are unlikely to yield results for a secular opposition. Besides, such moves would only benefit the BJP in the long run,” asserted Mayawati.
Talking to media persons at her residence in lucknow on Thursday, the BSP chief said that the BSP will only share dais with other secular parties after the number of seats to be contested by each party and an agenda was finalised to counter the BJP.
“It has been seen in the past than that Opposition parties have held rallies and shared dais before the elections but the unity breaks down during sharing of seats. This creates confusion among the people and also party cadres,” she said.
Mayawati added that during the last Bihar Assembly poll, couple of parties parted ways just before the elections over seat sharing.
“I don’t want such things to happen to the BSP in future and hence decided not to participate in the Patna rally,” the BSP chief said.
The former UP Chief Minister said that the BSP has always contested elections without any alliance in recent past and will continue to do so to serve the oppressed and downtrodden and fulfill the dreams of Dr Ambedkar.
However, Mayawati did not spare the BJP saying that the combine of BJP-RSS was trying its level best to hit Opposition unity and hence secular parties should be cautious in their moves. “The way the BJP has been surging has made even the Election Commission very wary,” she said.
Earlier, it was reported that though Mayawati would not attend the Patna meet, senior BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra could represent her in the rally.
Meanwhile, Mayawati has welcomed the judgement of the Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court declaring right to privacy as a fundamental right of the citizen of the country. “The decision is historic and it will strengthen our democracy. It will also enhance the honour and respect of the common man. Poeple can now live without fear of any infringement on their privacy,” she said.
Th BSP chief also cautioned the Narendra Modi government, saying that such court decisions only shows that they will not tolerate anarchism. ``The BJP government should mend its ways and beware of initiating any anti-people steps,” Mayawati advised.