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Shrill against BJP, soft on Oppn: Mayawati sending feelers to Cong?
The SP, BJP and Congress are usually the targets of Mayawati in party meetings but in the important meeting called to discuss special political developments and equations related to the political situation, as well as the preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha general elections, she avoided attacking the Congress and made passing remarks against the SP.
Lucknow: Launching a scathing attack on the the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but adopting a soft stance toward the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati indicated here on Wednesday that her party was open to joining the opposition alliance.
Speaking at a meeting of party leaders and office-bearers, Mayawati blamed the BJP for increasing inflation, poverty, illiteracy ,unrest, tension, women’s insecurity, exploitation of the common people and lack of basic facilities. She said, “Instead of resolving the problems faced by the common people, the BJP government is trying to divert their attention, raising communal and religious frenzy in the country as well as in UP. The selfish attitude of the BJP is making an adverse impact on the progress and development of not only UP but the entire country.”
Taking the BJP governments in UP, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra to task, Mayawati said the governments in these states were raising the issue of love jihad, land jihad, religious conversion, hijab, bulldozing mazars, schools and colleges, probing the working of madrasas and promoting bulldozer politics. The hate speech of the BJP leaders had created tension and fear in the country. It would adversely impact the country. The government should take strict action against those spreading hate in the country, she said.
Everyone had Constitutional rights to live with dignity and all the religions should get equal respect. When the country was facing a big challenge on various fronts, the government should take all the communities along. The Dalit and Muslim communities were being sidelined. Manipur was in the grip of violence due to the narrow politics of the BJP, she said.
Rather than focusing on the development of selected districts and regions, the BJP government should work for the development of the whole state. The BJP government had failed to maintain law and order as well as peace in the state. The killings in police custody, sensational murders and gang wars exposed the claims of the BJP government. The people were forced to live under terror and insecurity, she said.
The SP, BJP and Congress are usually the targets of Mayawati in party meetings but in the important meeting called to discuss special political developments and equations related to the political situation, as well as the preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha general elections, she avoided attacking the Congress and made passing remarks against the SP. “In the hour-long meeting, only BJP on the hit list of the party president”, said a BSP leader who attended the meeting.
Mayawati’s soft attitude towards the Congress comes in the back drop of the talk of alliance between the grand old party and the BSP for the upcoming assembly elections in Telangana. All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary SA Sampath Kumar held meetings with BSP state unit president RS Praveen Kumar to discuss the alliance formula for the assembly elections. “If the BSP and Congress stitch an alliance in Telangana, it can be replicated in other states and pave the way for the BSP joining the opposition alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections”, said a BSP leader.
BSP MP from Amroha Kunwar Danish Ali, who recently tweeted a photo with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, congratulating him on his birthday, said the BSP should join the big opposition alliance to defeat the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. BSP MP from Bijnor Lok Sabha seat Malook Nagar said the opposition parties’ alliance would not be successful without the BSP. Party chief Mayawati would take a call on the alliance with Congress and other parties. “BSP is a national party that has a support base in various states,” he said.
The Janata Dal (United) that is hosting opposition parties’ meeting in Patna has not extended an invitation to the BSP while rivals Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Chaudhary have been invited to the opposition meeting. Senior Janata Dal (U) leader KC Tyagi said BSP had not been invited as it had not opposed the Narendra Modi government. On Wednesday, the BSP chief slammed the BJP to counter the opposition allegation that her party was working as B team of the BJP, he said.
A political observer SK Srivastava said earlier too the BSP and Congress had joined hands in the electoral battle. The BSP had contested the 1996 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in alliance with the Congress. The BSP chief Mayawati had played pivotal role in the formation of the Janata Dal (S), BSP and Congress government in Karnataka after the 2018 assembly elections, he said.
A BSP leader said the party chief reviewed the preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the meeting. She collected feedback from divisional level office-bearers and gave directions to strengthen the organization till booth level. The party leaders should keep a close watch on the changing political scenario in the country due to the activities of the BJP government. They should also observe the opposition parties’ strategy to deal with the BJP, he said.
Statues shifted
The statues of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, BSP founder Kanshi Ram and BSP national president Mayawati, installed in the party state unit office located in Mall Avenue have been shifted to the residence of Mayawati- 9 Mall Avenue.
A BSP spokesperson said, these days the party chief was meeting the leaders and office -bearers at her residence. It was decided to shift the statues to the residence so that the people visiting the residence could pay their obeisance to the Dalit icons, he said.
