Assembly Election 2022: Rahul Gandhi said Mayawati gave a clear passage to the ruling BJP in UP. (File)
Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Congress had offered to form an alliance with BSP chief Mayawati in the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly election and make her the chief ministerial candidate but "she did not even talk to us".
Lashing out at the BSP chief, the former Congress president alleged that Mayawati gave a clear passage to the ruling BJP in the state because of "the CBI, the ED and Pegasus".
The Congress won only two seats out of 403 and got a vote share of less than 2.5 percent in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP retained power. As many as 97 per cent of Congress candidates lost their security deposit.
The BSP won just one seat and a vote share of around 13 per cent. Nearly 72 per cent of its candidates also lost their deposit in the election, which turned out to be a bipolar contest between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party.
Releasing a book, "The Dalit Truth", Rahul Gandhi said the Constitution is a weapon but it is meaningless without institutions which, he alleged, have been ''captured by the RSS''.
Noting that if institutions are not controlled by people, neither is the country, the Congress leader said, "This is not a new assault. It started the day when Mahatma Gandhi was killed with bullets."
Mr Gandhi said he would not have been able to speak up against the government had he taken any money and alleged that the CBI and the ED control the political system.
Taking on Mayawati, he said, "We gave a message to Mayawati to form an alliance and asked her to become the chief minister. She did not even talk to us."
Mr Gandhi said he has respect for BSP patriarch Kanshi Ram for articulating the Dalit voice of Uttar Pradesh, even though the Congress had suffered during that phase.
"But Mayawati ji is saying that I will not fight for it .. she gave a clear passage to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Why? (because of ) CBI, the ED and Pegasus," he said.
The former Congress chief said people need to speak up or else institutions will continue to be controlled and the Constitution will not be followed.
"This is the reality of India. And when the Constitution becomes defunct, the weak are the worst affected -- Dalits, minorities, tribals, unemployed, small farmers and the poor," he said.
He exhorted Dalits to fight for their rights by treading the path shown by B R Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi.
"The Constitution is the weapon of India but it has no meaning without institutions. The Constitution without institutions has no meaning. We talk of protecting the Constitution. But how is the Constitution implemented? With institutions. All institutions are in the hands of the RSS," he alleged.
He said Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution, gave the weapon to people "but today, that weapon has no meaning" as the media is being controlled and a spyware is being used to control political leaders.
Pointing out to the state of the country's economy, Mr Gandhi said, "This is the time to fight." He said Ambedkar and Gandhi had shown that "there is a path, but you need to tread on it. There is a way, but you need to tread that path".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)