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‘Anti-reservation parties’: Mayawati slams Congress-SP alliance
Mayawati also questioned the Congress party for not conducting the national caste census during its rule.
BSP supremo Mayawati on Sunday called the Congress and Samajwadi Party “anti-reservation”. She also ruled out any future alliance with the two parties.
Mayawati's remarks came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reiterated his vow to remove the 50 per cent cap on the reservation set by the Supreme Court and to conduct a caste census in the country.
In a series of posts on X, the BSP supremo said that the followers of Baba Saheb, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, will “never forgive” the Congress Party for not honouring him with the title of Bharat Ratna.
“Also, when Kanshi Ram ji, who gave impetus to Baba Saheb's movement, died, this Congress, while having a government in the centre, did not declare a single day of national mourning in his honour and neither did the SP government declare a state mourning. Be cautious of such double standards of thinking, behaviour and character,” she wrote.
Mayawati further questioned the Congress party for not conducting the national caste census during its rule.
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“…Not only this but the silence of Congress, SP, BJP in the face of the ongoing conspiracy to make the reservation given to SC/ST under the Constitution ineffective and abolish it through classification and creamy layer, is this their love for Dalits? Be careful…BSP has always been in favour of reservations, caste census because its conduct is very important in the interest of the weaker sections,” she added.
In another post, the BSP supremo advised the SC, ST, and OBC classes to take their own responsibility.
“Will it be in the interest of the SC, ST and OBC classes to enter into an alliance with these anti-reservation parties, like the SP and Congress, in any election? This will not happen at all, so now they have to stand on their own,” she wrote.
Rahul Gandhi on caste census, reservation
Gandhi, on Saturday, reiterated his call for a caste census, claiming there had been no women belonging to the Dalit, tribal or OBC communities on the list of Miss India winners. According to him, 90 per cent of the people were not a part of the mainstream.
“I have checked the list of Miss India, which did not have any Dalit, Adivasi (tribal) or OBC women. Some will talk about cricket or Bollywood. No one will show the cobbler or plumber. Even top anchors in the media are not from the 90 per cent…We want to know how many in institutions, corporates, Bollywood, Miss India are from the 90 per cent. I am only saying that 90 per cent did not have ‘bhagidari’ (participants) and this should be checked,” Gandhi said during a ‘Samvidhan Samman Sammelan’ in Uttar Pradesh.
He also reiterated his vow to remove the 50 per cent cap on the reservation set by the Supreme Court.
“If anyone thinks that the caste census can be stopped or the 50 per cent barrier in reservation will remain, let me tell you, they are dreaming…Neither the caste census will stop, nor the socio-economic survey, nor the institutional survey, nor will the 50 per cent barrier (in reservation) remain... because the people of India have made up their minds; the order has come from the people, now the Prime Minister must accept this and enforce the order. And if he does not enforce it, then other Prime Ministers will do it,” he said.
(With inputs from ANI)
