(B.S)
BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday hit out at BJP, SP and Congress for not doing enough for Dalits and asserted that her party has a track record of working for all sections of society as she launched her party’s campaign for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Terming the rival parties “anti-Dalit”, she said though they make various promises in their manifestos ahead of polls, they forget about them after coming to power. Mayawati, who has been conspicuous by her absence from the high-octane campaigning in the state, also said she has been living in Lucknow for a year and working to rebuild the BSP. She said some “casteist media groups” are trying to demoralise BSP supporters by saying that their party leaders are missing on the ground.
The BSP is contesting all 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. The party has declared names of candidates for the majority of the seats. Targeting the ruling BJP, Mayawati said the party is pursuing the “narrow-minded agendas” of the RSS. “Their (BJP) policies are focused on promoting casteist, capitalist and narrow-minded agendas of the RSS. This has resulted in an environment of religious tension and hate in the state,” she said. People from Dalit and backward communities have not benefitted from the BJP government’s policies, including reservation in government jobs, because it has involved the private sector in most of its projects, she added.
“I have been living in Lucknow for the last year and have worked to build the party again in Uttar Pradesh. I want to tell the media that I have been busy with election work all this time and the BSP will return with a majority in Uttar Pradesh,” she said. Rival parties had on several occasions ruled the BSP “out of the race”. However, Mayawati hit back at them saying they would be proved wrong as had happened in 2007. The BSP came to power with a majority in Uttar Pradesh in 2007, proving pre-poll predictions wrong. Mayawati became the chief minister for the fourth time that year.
