Mayawati predicts early elections, calls SP anti-Dalit

At a massive rally in Lucknow, the Bahujan Samaj Party supremo came down heavily on Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son -- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh.

Offering hope to the ruling coalition at the Centre she said that she is opposed to FDI in retail, but is willing to be convinced of its merits.

Blaming the Samajwadi Party for showing utter disrespect to Dalit icons, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said on Tuesday, "Little does the Samajwadi Party realise that if it were not for Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Mulayam Singh Yadav and his entire family would have been still rearing and looking after cows and buffaloes."

Terming UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's recent decision to strike off BSP founder Kanshi Ram's death anniversary from the list of state public holidays as a "reflection of the Samajwadi Party's anti-Dalit psyche", she said, "apparently Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav have forgotten that it was none other than Ambedkar who initiated the need for providing reservation to the backwards."

Addressing a huge rally of her party at the Rama Bai Ambedkar Maidan in Lucknow, a visibly angry Mayawati cited other examples of  "insult" to Dalit icons. "Not only was my statue in Lucknow vandalised by SP activists, but at least two dozen statues of Ambedkar have been broken or damaged by the ruling party ruffians across the state over the past six months," she said.

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Mayawati's concerted effort was to arouse suspicion about the sincerity and commitment of the Akhilesh Yadav government, whom she blamed for "not being honest even to Muslims, whose support had propelled the Samajwadi Party to power."

She felt that Akhilesh was proving to be worse than his father, particularly in matters related to Dalits as also on governance issues. "Akhilesh Yadav has not only done away with public holiday on Manyavar Kanshi Ram's death anniversary but has also discontinued several welfare schemes and programmes initiated by me in the name of other Dalit icons," alleged the BSP supremo.

Accusing Akhilesh of only doing lip service in the past six months, Mayawati sought to label him as "ghoshna chief minister" (announcement CM).

"Ever since the Smaajwadi Party government has come to power, this new chief minister has only been making announcements without caring to actually ensure implementation of those announcements." she said.

She also expressed doubts about the implementation of election promises like distribution of laptops and tablets and alleged that the unemployment allowance announced by the new government was being given largely to those associated with the ruling party.

"What was worse that Akhilesh was busy claiming credit for several development projects initiated and executed by me; that includes the Yamuna Expressway which he inaugurated with much fanfare," Mayawati pointed out.

According to her, "some welfare schemes initiated by me were discontinued by the SP government, which was now coming up with identical programmes under a new nomenclature only to give a false impression that it was something new."

Alleging complete breakdown of law and order under the present regime, Mayawati alleged, "Rapes, murders, kidnappings and extortion are on the rise and there is a total collapse of police administration as SP goons are having a field day."

Drawing the attention of her audience to the half a dozen incidents of communal violence over the past six months, she felt, "Muslims can see the hollowness behind SP's much-hyped promise of ensuring security and safety of the minority community."

And comparing it to her own regime, she patted her back for ensuring peace and communal harmony that stood threatened in the aftermath of the high court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. "Had it been a Samajwadi Party rule at that time, there would have been blood not only on the streets of Uttar Pradesh, but all across the country," she remarked.

Predicting an early Lok Sabha elections, the BSP supremo called upon her supporters to get into the poll gear and start working towards expanding the party base to ride on to power at the Centre.

Convened to mark the sixth death anniversary of her mentor and BSP founder Kanshi Ram, the rally not only sounded a full-throated bugle for the parliamentary electoral battle scheduled in 2014, but was also clearly aimed at displaying BSP's rising strength, amply demonstrated in the several hundred thousand crowd that swarmed the entire area in and around the venue.

Even as speculation was rife that Mayawati would make a major announcement with respect to her party's support to the United Progressive Alliance, she postponed that to Wednesday.

"Let me tell you that in view of the scams that the central government has been embroiled and its anti-people policies, it is time that we review our decision about extending support to the UPA. We have, therefore, convened a meeting of our party national executive in Lucknow on Wednesday, when we will take a final call on this all important issue -- whether we could continue extending support to UPA or withdraw our support," she pointed out.

The attendance at the rally, which included her supporters from states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Haryana, was meant to convey that even though she was voted out of power at the last UP state elections, she continued to be a force to reckon with.

Her 90-minute long speech, which the audience heard with rapt attention, was loaded with frontal attacks on her successor SP government, on which she chose to pass all blame for every ill in UP.

Even as she chose to selectively condemn and criticise the Congress-led UPA government, she did not spare the BJP either, yet it was the SP which remained her key target.

Without mincing words, she sought to make it loud and clear that her party's ultimate goal was to form a BSP government at the Centre.

"Both the Congress and the BJP have always deceived the downtrodden classes -- be it the Dalits, the tribals, the OBCs or the poor among the upper castes. And their problems will be solved only by a BSP government in power at the Centre. Therefore, take it as a mission to build a wider and stronger base in different states of the country from where you have come," she told the audience.

She said, "I can foresee the next Lok Sabha elections being held before schedule. Therefore it will be extremely important for you all to get down to business as soon as you get back to your respective places. Remember, we need to expand the base of our party so that we can achieve our ultimate goal of forming our own government at the Centre."

Alerting her supporters against the Congress, she warned, "You also need to guard against tricks that were bound to be played by the Congress-led UPA government once the general elections get closer; the central government will start giving sops to woo you. But you must not get carried away by such things, nor should you get influenced by the media, which also has a tendency to twist and distort facts about us."

"As far as FDI in retail is concerned, we have made it loud and clear to the UPA that we are not in favour of that. If the UPA claims that it will benefit the poor farmers, let them prove it; but until we can see results, we will continue to oppose FDI in retail."

"We condemn the UPA for the steep rise in diesel prices; it is not just farmers who were getting affected by it but it has hit all poorer sections of society. I would like to tell the Centre to take steps for improving the economic condition of the poor and the downtrodden, who have to face the entire brunt of their anti-people policies. The UPA government appears to be only looking after the concerns of the affluent," she added.

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