English
Lucknow, April 14: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati addressed a grand gathering of Dalits in Lucknow to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. Throughout her speech, Mayawati targeted political opponents who are attempting to appropriate the legacy of Ambedkar for their electoral benefits. She was highly critical of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing the saffron outfit of fooling Dalits with its communal bandwagon.
Mayawati warned Dalits to not to fall in the communal trap being prepared in Uttar Pradesh by BJP and its parental outfit Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). “All these issues like beef, love jihad and Bharat Mata ki Jai is unnecessary and is used to polarize the society. My party members only say Jay Bhim, Jay Bharat or Jay Hind,” she said. Mayawati further criticised Asaduddin Owaisi and Darul Uloom-Deoband, accusing them of indirectly fueling the politics of hate being practiced by BJP. (ALSO READ: Mayawati attacks Narendra Modi on Dalit outreach, calls it an ‘eyewash’)
The BSP chief did not shy away from commenting on the Ram Mandir controversy. “As elections are approaching, these people (BJP-RSS) will rake up the issue of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Dalits should beware and not fall into the trap. Our messiah is Babasaheb Ambedkar, not Lord Ram,” Mayawati added. BSP has been a strong opponent of the Ram Mandir construction. Party’s founder Kanshi Ram had opined to construct a public toilet at the disputed site to resolve the conflict.
“Even if the BJP fields a Dalit or OBC chief ministerial candidate, he would only work on the agenda of RSS. What did (former BJP CM) Kalyan Singh do? It was during his reign that the Ram Mandir controversy turned murkier leading to communal riots,” Mayawati added.
Mayawati’s sharp rhetoric against BJP was directed to reclaim the Dalit voters who had overwhelmingly supported Narendra Modi during his prime ministerial run. BJP had secured 73 of the 80 parliamentary seats in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
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