Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Sunday reached out to her core constituency, the 21 per cent Dalit population in Uttar Pradesh, which she hopes will fully back her in the upcoming UP Assembly elections. While addressing a rally at the Kothi Meena Bazar ground in Agra, Mayawati attacked the BJP and the RSS and the Akhilesh Government on multiple counts. While she warned the people against the “communal” forces, Mayawati alleged that the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh is “run by goondas”.
She accused the Modi Government of raising issues of cow slaughter and “love jehad” to keep the minorities “under fear” as well as of being “anti-Dalit”. “In BJP-ruled States, Dalits are being persecuted, whether it is Rohith Vemula or Gujarat (Una) or what Daya Shankar said about me...
just like the Congress, if you go around sharing meals with Dalits, it doesn’t mean anything,” she said.
Rejecting allegations that tickets in the BSP are sold for money, Mayawati said, “I want to ask our opponents, you say the BSP is a spent force, we are finished then why would people be so interested in buying our ticketsIJ The truth is that other parties want to malign us.”
She also accused media of “double standards”, saying it only highlights accusations made on Dalit parties.
Describing the NDA Government at the Centre as “pro-capitalist”, Mayawati alleged that the Prime Minister had forgotten all of his promises made to the people before the 2014 general election. “The black money from abroad has not been brought back nor have cheques of Rs 15 lakh per person been issued as promised,” she said.
Referring to a recent statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, the BSP supremo said, “The RSS chief wants Hindus to produce more than two children. They cannot even provide for two children. Who will look after themIJ”