AZAMGARH: BSP supremo Mayawati today attacked the Modi government, claiming it could start a war with Pakistan on the issue of terrorism just to divert people's attention from their failures ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls early next year.
Cautioning the electorate on Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav's turf in eastern UP, she sharpened her attack on both BJP and ruling Samajwadi Party, saying they could go to the extent of engineering riots to reap electoral benefits ahead of the crucial polls.
"To divert people's attention from the failures of BJP and the Centre, the government can go to war (with Pakistan) on the issue of Kashmir and terrorism," she said at a rally here. Azamgarh is represented by Mulayam in the Lok Sabha. He had won from both Azamgarh and Mainpuri in 2014 but gave up the latter.
"Both the governments have cheated the people and failed to deliver on the poll promises," she said, apprehending that these parties could "foment communal passions" for sake of votes.
"People have understood the designs of opposition parties, especially of BJP. It could trigger Hindu-Muslim riot in Uttar Pradesh before the state Assembly elections and people should beware of this," Mayawati said. She accused the BJP of being anti-Dalit and the SP of encouraging 'goondas and mafias'.
The BSP supremo said if her party comes to power, the rule of law will once again be established in the state. In an apparent attempt to downplay the exodus of senior leaders from BSP, she said her political opponents, mainly BJP, were lapping up "our rejected stuff" (leaders expelled from BSP).
Of the 10 assembly seats in the area, the Samajwadi Party holds a majority. Mayawati is now hoping to make a dent in eastern UP in the coming state polls, and chose Azamgarh for her first rally in the region which has a significant Muslim population apart from her Dalit vote base.
Mayawati said the dreams of 'acchhe din' "peddled" by Modi have turned into bad days. "Have you got houses, electricity, employment during the two-year stint of BJP government at the Centre," she asked the crowd which responded with loud cries of "no".
Slamming the BJP and the RSS, she said, "The central government has failed on all counts. BJP is strengthening communal forces like RSS and its associated organisations." The BSP supremo said BJP had waived over Rs 1.14 lakh crore worth of loans of the rich, while the poor were driven to commit suicide.
She said Modi had promised to bring back black money in 100 days, but it turned out to be a lie. The BJP was following in the footsteps of Congress on the corruption issue, she added. "The roots of corruption in BJP are deeper than in Congress. Whether its Lalitgate or Vyapam scam or Vijay Mallaya case, BJP is following in the footsteps of Congress," she said.
She rejected allegations of taking money in ticket distribution for the assembly polls. "I want to ask our opponents, you say BSP is a sinking ship that is why people are leaving our party. If that is so, why would people be so interested in buying our tickets? The truth is that other parties want to malign us," she said. She also raked up the incidents of discrimination and violence against Dalits since the Modi government came to power at the Centre.
"In BJP-ruled states, Dalits are being persecuted, whether it is Rohith Vemula or Una incident in Gujarat or what Daya Shankar Singh said about me. They are just like Congress. "If you go around sharing meals with Dalits, it doesn't mean anything," she said, evidently taking a jibe at BJP president Amit Shah.
The former chief minister accused Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of presiding over a "lawless" state. "The SP government is only interested in helping goondas and mafia," she alleged.
She also raised the issue of separate Poorvanchal state saying, "My government had in the past sent proposal for creation of a separate state, but it was not addressed."