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With just few months left for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Tuesday questioned the false claims made by the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party while categorically stating that the root problem in the state is the return of 'jungle raj' and false promises for electoral gains.
Mayawati termed as "theatrics" and "image building" exercises the merger of Mukhtar Ansari's Qaumi Ekta Dal with the SP and its subsequent nullification, saying if Akhilesh Yadav is really concerned about law and order he should first dismiss his ministers with "criminal antecedents".
She charged that the communal atmosphere in the state had been spoilt because of an understanding between the SP and the BJP and that both the parties wanted to give the coming polls a Hindu-Muslim colour by instigating communal riots.
"In order to cover up its misdeeds, a drama on the lines of the one enacted last time concerning D P Yadav was replayed over the inclusion of QED and its subsequent nullification... This will have no effect on the people of the state," Mayawati told reporters in Lucknow.
"Such theatrics is not going to help in image building of the head of the Samajwadi Party government... If he is really serious and sensitive towards improving law and order situation, he should first dismiss all his ministers having criminal antecedents and act tough on 'goonda' and mafia elements in the party," she said.
The BSP chief, however, said this is not going to happen as, if implemented, this will "fill all the jails in the state and the party will be left with none".
Mayawati said SP made "full use" of QED in the Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Parishad polls before shunting it out and now Ansari and others will also take their help by ensuring that weak candidates are fielded against them by SP in the coming polls.
On her charge of dismal law and order in the state, Mayawati said the situation was "so bad" that even those who have to uphold law are being "targeted".
"The morale of criminal elements enjoying the patronage of SP is so high that they are also targetting policemen and instead of being sensitive towards this, the SP government is doling out compensation to matryrs and freeing itself of all its responsibilities," Mayawati said.
The BSP chief said under these circumstances, the Governor and central government need to fulfil their Constitutional obligations without delay or else people of the state will not forgive the SP as well as the BJP in the 2017 assembly polls.
In an apparent attack on SP for its decision take out a "vikas rath yatra" across the state to highlight the development carried out by their government, Mayawati claimed their leaders were struggling for existence and advised them instead to ask the Chief Minister to move across the state on 'rath' (chariot) on the issue of law and order.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister in her endeavor to connect with the masses prior to the polls highlighted what she alleged "false" promises made by the BJP in the run up to the 2014 general election and urged the people to be aware of the bogus claims.
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, the BSP supremo said Narendra Modi comes in the state and makes tall claims of development and eradicating poverty, but he should throw light on the developments he did while the BJP was in power in the state for six years.
"The 22 crore people of Uttar Pradesh now seek an explanation from the BJP leadership on the intriguing promises made during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls of bringing development and eradicating poverty," she added.
Mayawati also questioned the Prime Minister on the promise of bringing back black money stashed in safe havens abroad.
"The BSP along with the people of Uttar Pradesh want to know from the BJP central leadership as to why not even a single rupee of black money has been distributed as promised among the people till date as they have completed more than two years in office," she added.
Pointing out that there is fury and outrage among the people of Uttar Pradesh towards the BJP leadership, Mayawati said the saffron party has miserably failed in fulfilling the promises made to them.
Continuing her tirade against the ruling Samajwadi Party in the state, Mayawati said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's decision to revoke ties with mafia don Mukhtar Ansari's Quami Ekta Dal was nothing, but a big drama.
"The Samajwadi Party might have ended its merger with Mukhtar Ansaris Quami Ekta Dal, but they have politically benefitted from this drama for the upcoming polls," she said.
The BSP chief further said the Samajwadi Party Government should first remove the tainted ministers with criminal background if it is indeed serious about curbing crime and maintaining the law and order situation in the state.
"If the Samajwadi Party is serious about curbing crime and maintaining law and order in the state, first of all they should remove the tainted ministers from their Cabinet and also remove all the leaders having criminal background from the party," Mayawati told the media here.
"The root of the problem here is deteriorating law and order situation and 'jungle' raj under the rule of the Samajwadi Party Government in the last four and a half years," she added.
Mayawati's outburst against the Samajwadi Party came a day after the Chief Minister undertook the seventh and in all probability the last Cabinet expansion of his government before heading for polls next year.
Balram Yadav, who was sacked by Akhilesh Yadav for mediating the merger of Quami Ekta Dal into the Samajwadi Party, was among those sworn-in on Monday at a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan.
Narad Rai, Ravidas Mehrotra and Sharda Pratap Shukla were also sworn-in as ministers. Mohd Ziauddin was also announced as a minister, but could not be sworn-in as he was abroad undertaking Haj.