BSP chief Mayawati gave a clarion call to lakhs of party workers at a rallyher on Tuesday to be ready for early Lok Sabha elections
LUCKNOW: BSP chief Mayawati gave a clarion call to lakhs of party workers at a rally here on Tuesday to be ready for early Lok Sabha elections, and to “move ahead with utmost caution” towards the goal of establishing a BSP government at the Centre.
“A BSP government at the Centre is the only solution to all problems of the poor and weaker sections of society,” she said at the rally organised to mark the first death anniversary of party founder Kanshi Ram. Over 10 lakh party workers from UP, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other states were in attendance.
Maya said a mid-term poll looked imminent for two reasons. “First, there are major contradictions within the UPA over the nuclear deal, and secondly, the BJP is all set to blow up the Ram Setu issue,” she said.
The mammoth rally was Mayawati’s way of making a power statement. However, her supporters would surely have been disappointed by the apologetic tone and content of her speech. Those who have watched Mayawati’s power politics closely knew the quintessential punch and aggression was missing.
Though she criticised all parties, she reserved the worst for arch rival Mulayam Singh and his Samajwadi Party (SP). Mayawati also targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accusing him of ignoring the state’s demand for development funds.
Still, a large part of her 100-minute speech was used to offer a litany of explanations on charges of her amassing huge wealth and assets, the transfer of a party trust to her brother, etc.
Mayawati was clearly on the backfoot, offering “sympathy” to police officials found guilty of alleged irregularities in the recruitment scam related to the Mulayam regime. She even sympathised with the 18,000-odd constables dismissed by her government recently.
Maya sounded equally diffident on her government’s decision to ban student union elections, describing the ban as “temporary”. She was hardly convincing as she explained why the ambitious contract-farming scheme had been withdrawn.
“The scheme was not explained to the farmers properly”, was what she said sheepishly.
Maya attacked the Centre, saying, “I have met the PM personally and sought a special economic package for UP, but nothing has been done as yet.”
She also squarely blamed the PM for not acceding her demand for reservation in the private sector.
“When the BSP forms a government at the Centre, we will not give job guarantees, we will create jobs,” she said, taking a dig at the UPA regime’s rural employment guarantee scheme.
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