LUCKNOW: BSP supremo Mayawati is heading towards a sharp decline ('mahagirawat') after having been part of a 'mahamilawat' (adulterated) anti-BJP alliance and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's dream of returning to power in 2022 will remain just a dream, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said on Thursday targeting the two opposition parties.
Maurya said his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) doesn't need the support of Mayawati who has been "losing her base" since 2014.
"Mayawati is heading towards 'mahagirawat' from 'mahamilawat'," he said, referring to the alliance between the SP, the BSP and the RLD in the 2019 parliamentary elections.
"Her fluctuating statements are a sign of her 'mahagirawat' and 'ghabrahat' (nervousness). Giving statements and changing them is her habit," Maurya told PTI-Bhasha in an interview.
Maurya was asked about Mayawati's statement that she could support any party, including BJP, in the legislative council elections to defeat the Samajwadi Party (SP) and then asserting that she would rather retire from politics instead of allying with the BJP.
On the Samajwadi Party's 'Mission 2022' to regain power in the state, the Deputy CM said, "I know that people have voted for BJP (in the recent bypolls). Akhilesh Yadav is dreaming (of forming government in 2022) and it will remain so. Even if the SP, BSP and the Congress contest together, their dream (of defeating the BJP) will not be fulfilled."
Rejecting the Samajwadi Party's charge of misuse of government machinery in the by-elections, Maurya said, "One views others as one's own self. The hooliganism under the SP regime has not been forgotten by the people of the state. How his ministers used to harass people by abusing power is also not hidden from anyone."
"Akhilesh has vision impairment and needs treatment to correct his vision," he added.
On the death of a Dalit woman following assault and alleged gang rape by some upper caste men in Hathras and another such case in Balrampur, Maurya said the government would not tolerate such crimes and criminals at all.
"It has been seen by all that whenever such an incident happened, immediate action was taken irrespective of caste and religion (of the people involved). A criminal can no longer seek protection due to the clear intention of the government."
The death of the Dalit woman from Hathras and her subsequent cremation in the dead of the night, reportedly without the consent of the family, triggered a nationwide outrage.
On the stance taken by Congress General Secretary and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on the Hathras case, Maurya said, "He (Rahul Gandhi) was dreaming of taking oath as Prime Minister in 2019 but people showed him reality. I always call Priyanka Vadra as Twitter Vadra. Her politics is no more than this. In UP, the Congress politics is no more than photo opportunity."
Asked about a BJP MLA backing a party leader accused of shooting a man dead at a meeting attended by police and officials, he said the government took "the sternest action and gave a message about how the criminal should be treated".
"The BJP national president took note of the MLA's activity and the party has given notice to the MLA on the matter. This matter is with the (party) disciplinary committee," he added.
Replying to a question, the former BJP state president said the opposition parties are only doing politics to weaken the BJP at the Centre, but they will be disappointed.
On the claims of repeating the BJP's success of the 2017 polls in the next election, Maurya said, "The governments of the Centre and in the state have fulfilled the promises made to the people. The BJP is stronger than the organisation of opposition. Sixty per cent of votes are ours, the rest is divided (among opposition)."
"No party will be in a position to stand against the BJP for the next 25 years," he claimed.