Alleging that Mayawati was the biggest casteist face of the country, UP SC, ST Finance Development Commission Chairman Dr Lalji Prasad Nirmal charged both Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress with diluting Dalit issues for their vote bank politics.
Addressing media persons in Lucknow on Wednesday, Nirmal said that as Chief Minister of UP, Mayawati diluted the SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which was amended and strengthened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"During the BSP regime, SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was diluted by then Chief Minister Mayawati, who issued directive that no FIR should be registered under the Act before an inquiry was done by a circle officer," he said.
Nirmal alleged that Mayawati also subverted the UP Scheduled Castes Commission by amending the law to appoint a non-Dalit to head the institution.
Nirmal, who is also a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Part, alleged that the track record of the Congress as far as empowering Dalits and ensuring their due share in power had been dismal.
"The Congress ruled in UP and at the Centre for over four decades but did nothing for ensuring Dalits their due share in politics and other institutions," he said.
However, the Dalit leader praised the BJP for ensuring civil rights and dignity of Dalits, which was never in the agenda of the BSP and Congress and also the Samajwadi Party.
Nirmal also referred to BSP's slogan 'Dalit pitega to BSP me jayega' and said that the main agenda was to weaken Dalits so that they remained poor, illiterate and bonded labours of the BSP. He said Mayawati herself had said several times that educated Dalits do not vote for the BSP.
The Dalit leader said that the BJP, on the other hand, always promoted Dalits be it in politics or in any other field.
"As a matter of policy, Mayawati never promoted Dalit leaders in her party as she was afraid that they might pose a challenge to her leadership while the Samajwadi Party has visceral hatred for the community," he said. Claiming that Modi government's Standup India programme had boosted Dalit entrepreneurs, Nirmal said that loans ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore were being provided to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.