Three days after the luck-now bench of the Allahabad High ordered ban on caste-based rallies, BSP chief Mayawati justified caste-based rallies organised by her party.
Mayawati said that social structure of the country was caste-based and emerged from system of inequality. “The downtrodden were kept as slaves on the basis of socio-economic and educational basis, therefore Dr BR Ambedkar made provision of reservation in the Constitution,” she said.
Mayawati said that as objections were being raised on the manner of the campaign, it was being changed. “Now the party would organise social brotherhood rallies and sammelans in the name of Sarvsamaj, but the party will not stop from its campaign," she said.
She said that BSP’s objective was to create a equitable society. “In that sense BSP is a social organisation first and a political party later. It is for social change and the effort will continue till the time the goal to establish an equalitarian society is not achieved,” she said.
However, we will keep in mind that such rallies do not appear to be casteist, the former UP Chief Minister said.
On the SC decision disallowing a person, who is in jail or in police custody, from contesting elections, Mayawati said that it could be misused and her party was not in its favour.
Mayawati warned her party MP Vijay Bahadur Singh for supporting Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP campaign committee chairperson Narendra Modi for latter’s ‘puppy remark’ related to the 2002 riots. She said Vijay Bahadur Singh had defied party line because BSP has decided not to give him ticket for the next lok Sabha election.