"Cannot See Beyond Yadav Family": Mayawati Jabs Samajwadi Party

BSP president Mayawati Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Samajwadi Party alleging that it did not field a Muslim candidate from Kannauj as it cannot see beyond SP president Akhilesh Yadav's family.

The BSP chief asked the deprived sections, including the Dalits and Muslims, not to cast a single vote for Yadav's party in the Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing an election rally in Kannauj, the constituency from where the SP chief is seeking election, the BSP president recalled how Yadav, during his government, had changed the names of the districts named by her government after the great men born in the "Dalit, shoshit and pichhda varg" (Dalit, oppressed and backward class).

She said even though Muslims are in sizeable numbers in Kannauj, the SP does not give ticket to the community and alleged that the Yadavs from the SP family are fielded in elections as the party cannot see beyond their family.

"The Muslim population here is sizeable but the SP does not give ticket to Muslims. They do not have time apart from their family and Yadavs have been fielded by the SP family (unko to unkey parivar se hi fursat nahi milti hai ticket dene main, so SP Parivar se Yadav khadey hote)," she said.

When the BSP gave the right to Muslims, the SP was not able to digest it, she said, and asked the minority community to remember this and vote only for the BSP and not cast a single vote for the SP, she said.

"I did a lot of work when the BSP was in power in Uttar Pradesh but the political opponents, specially the Samajwadi Party, did not like respect being given to the great men born in the oppressed sections of the society. Akhilesh Yadav, on coming to power, changed most of the names of the districts, parks and institutes named after them," she said.

Mayawati said a new district Bhadohi was carved out of Varanasi and named after Sant Ravidas when the BSP was in power.

"That too was changed by Akhilesh Yadav. So much hatred towards the saints, gurus and great men from the Dalit, oppressed and backward class. Who has given them the right? What right they have to tell the Dalits and deprived to vote for the Samajwadi Party? You should not vote for such a party and also not pardon it," she stressed.

She recalled that the then SP government had ended reservation in promotions.

"Akhilesh Yadav not only ended quota in promotions but when an amendment bill was brought in Parliament during the Congress government, it (Congress) did not allow it to pass by putting the Samajwadi Party and other parties in the forefront and in collusion with the BJP. Not only this, the SP MPs tore the bill in Parliament," she said.

Mayawati asked whether those who today talk about taking the Dalit votes should be allowed to do so.

"The benefits of the reservation, which was provided by the Constitution of Dr Ambedkar, were not properly allowed to reach you in the Congress government and there is no question of it happening in the Samajwadi Party government," she said.

The BSP chief also alleged that the reservation has become very limited in the country and the oppression of these sections has not stopped as most of the work is being given to the private sector and to the big industrialists without making a provision of quota.

Introducing the BSP candidate from Kannauj, Imran Bin Zafar, to the people, Mayawati said after she fielded him and when the Samajwadi Party came to know of it, "the SP chief said the ticket has been given on the directives of BJP".

Mayawati also stressed that as the Dalits and most backwards will go in in the BSP's favour. If the Muslim vote also comes to her party without getting divided, the result in Kannauj will be something else, she said.

Alleging that her political opponents take large sums in the form of electoral bonds, she said her party has never taken a single rupee from any big or small capitalist.

"Recently the matter of electoral bonds came up in the Supreme Court and it was found that the Congress, BJP and other parties had taken funds worth crores from the capitalists through bonds. But you would not have seen the BSP's name anywhere. The BSP has not taken even a single rupee from any capitalist or 'dhanna seth'," she said.

"Ever since the BSP was formed, it has never taken money to run the organisation or contest elections. It is with the small contribution and support of its workers that the works are carried out in the party.

"Funds are collected in our party to run the movement and fight elections through membership and on the occasion of birthday but without taking money through bonds. It is unlike the other parties," the BSP president claimed.

She also appealed to the people not to get influenced by the BJP or RSS over the free ration being distributed by the central government.

"It is not being given by the BJP or Modi from their pockets but from the tax of the people. This kindness is not of the BJP or RSS," she added.

The BSP chief also sought support for other BSP candidates -- Sarika Singh Baghel from Etawah and Kranti Pandey from Farrukhabad -- during the election rally.

Polling in Kannauj, Etawah and Farrukhabad is slated for the fourth phase on May 13.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)