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UP polls: Mayawati blasts all opponents in first election rally
At Agra rally, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati seeks votes for ‘full-majority government’ in Uttar Pradesh
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday urged voters to reject the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party and vote for her party so that it can form a full-majority government as it did in 2007.
The BSP chief began her 2022 UP assembly poll campaign from Agra, also known as a Dalit capital, on Wednesday. She targeted all political parties and did not spare the media, too, which she blamed for ‘propaganda’ that she was missing from election campaign whereas she claimed that she was busy in party work in Lucknow.
She addressed the gathering at Kothi Meena Bazar ground, the biggest of Agra. There were only 1,000 chairs placed due to the Election Commission’s directive over the ongoing Covid pandemic.
BSP had won six of the nine seats in Agra during the 2007 assembly election when the party formed the government on its own in UP. BSP could not win any seat in 2017 assembly election but was runner up on seven seats.
In 2012 also her party had won six seats in Agra. Then Akhilesh Yadav’s SP had swept the polls.
Speaking on the occasion, Mayawati flayed the Congress for not honouring Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar with the Bharat Ratna and complained that not a single day condolence was declared when ‘manyawar Kanshiram’ breathed his last.
“Congress was ruling in most of the states and also at the Centre after independence but because of its policies, it was thrown out of power. The party ‘unsuccessfully’ portrays itself as a party in favour of dalits but forgets them once it gets power,” alleged Mayawati.
She target the Samajwadi Party next and accused it of promoting lawlessness and goondaism.
“It was in the term of the SP that the Muzaffarnagar riots took place. Dalits face a tough time whenever SP comes to power in the state. To honour those held in high regard by dalits, certain districts were renamed by BSP during its regime, but SP reversed this step of the BSP,” Mayawati said.
She then flayed the BJP, which she termed as a party having caste bias and promotes religious divide for votes. She also flayed the media and alleged that it played down crime incidents during the BJP rule.
“Dalits and the backwards are not getting benefit of reservation as BJP has promoted private sector. Minorities remain on their target and even the intellectuals among the upper caste are not spared by the BJP. Unemployment and inflation has increased in present BJP rule,” she alleged and asked the voters to say no to all three -- BJP, SP and Congress and vote for the BSP as they voted in 2007.
“BSP represents all sections of society and had given tickets to ‘sarv-samaj’. It was in BSP rule that dalits and backwards had their say and the party worked for the poor, the deprived and farmers. BSP will resolve issues faced by the industry in Agra and Firozabad and cases where innocents were framed will be re-investigated,” she asserted.
“BSP will restore the changed names of districts, criminals will be in jail, no bias will be done on caste or religion basis,” stated Mayawati.
Mayawati also cautioned supporters against biased media and its poll surveys.
