MYSURU: A day after BSP supremo Mayawati’s outburst against the Congress, the party’s lone minister in JD(S)-Congress coalition government, N Mahesh, accused the state’s all the three major political parties of being casteist. This has put the JD(S), BSP’s pre-poll alliance partner, in an awkward position and the party slammed the minister for his remarks.
Inaugurating a programme, ‘BSP nadige Parliament Kadege’, the Primary Education Minister alleged on Wednesday that the JD (S) and other parties bank on caste-based politics and fragmentation of the society. Making it clear that BSP-JD(S) alliance for Lok Sabha elections will be decided by his party high command, Mahesh said his party had entered into an alliance for assembly polls and it contested urban local bodies polls on its own.
He sent a strong message to BSP’s rank and file in the state on contesting Lok Sabha polls saying the party will be strengthened from booth levels across Chamrajnagar parliamentary constituency. His remarks are seen as an attempt to assert his position within the party and an attempt to be in good books of his party leadership.
Mahesh said BSP is not just a political party, but it is a “mass movement striving to unite people” cutting across castes. It also aims at bringing backward classes, minorities and the poor on the same platform, he said. “JD, Congress and BJP have failed to bring equality in the society and they will thrive until the caste system exists,” he added. He also accused the parties of failing to work for work for empowerment of the poor and socio-economic equality. Mahesh said he would remain an ordinary worker of the BSP as MLA and ministerial posts are not permanent.
Slamming Mahesh, JD(S) spokesman Tanveer Ahmed said the former was carried away while making his statements. “People had been fighting against the caste system much before the JD(S) or BSP came into being. It is unbecoming of someone in his position to make such statements,” he said. JD(S) state president A H Vishwanath said his party’s alliance with BSP will be decided by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and Mayawati.