NEW DELHI: After the party’s abysmal performance in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the party had reached out to BSP chief Mayawati for an alliance in the state but she did not respond out of fear of CBI, ED and Pegasus spyware.
Speaking at the release of a book ‘The Dalit Truth’, Gandhi attacked Mayawati for a giving a walkover to BJP in Uttar Pradesh as she did not even contest out of fear of investigative agencies. “We gave a message to form an alliance and asked her to become the chief minister face, but there was no response from her,” the Congress leader said.
Speaking about BSP patriarch Kanshi Ram for articulating the Dalit voice of Uttar Pradesh, Rahul said he has respect for the late leader, though the Congress had suffered during that phase.
“But Mayawati ji is saying that I will not fight for it (Dalit cause), and she gave a clear passage to the BJP,” he said. The Congress won just two seats and the BSP one in the recently concluded UP Assembly elections.
Alleging that CBI and ED controlled the political system, the former Congress chief said he would not have been able to speak up against the government had he taken any money.
Attacking the RSS, he said Congress and Dr BR Ambedkar gave India a weapon — our Constitution but RSS’s “capture of institutions” has undermined it. “Constitution is a weapon but it is meaningless without institutions. SCs, minorities, adivasis and other weaker sections pay the price of this subversion. People need to speak up or else institutions will continue to be controlled and the Constitution will not be followed. Our fight must follow the path shown by Bapu, Nehruji and Babasaheb,” he said, adding this is the time to fight.
Pointing to the state of the country’s economy, Gandhi said, “This is the time to fight.” He said Ambedkar and Gandhi had shown that ‘there is a path, but you need to tread on it. “There is a way, but you need to tread that path”