Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Saturday launched a scathing attack at the BJP and the Congress and accused them of making false promises to the people of the country in order to win their votes.

Addressing a joint rally with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, she urged the people not to fall for the false promises made by the BJP and the Congress in the electoral campaign.

Mayawati’s BSP is contesting the Lok Sabha election in alliance with the SP and Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). Uttar Pradesh goes to polls in all seven phases of the currently underway election exercise.

In her address to the people, she responded to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s Ali-Bajrang Bali remark, saying, “Ali is ours, so is Bajrang Bali. We want both, especially the latter since he belongs to the Dalit community. Yogi himself said that Bajrang Balli was a forest dweller and a Dalit.”

She called on the people to ensure that “Yogi’s party did not get either Ali’s vote or Bajrang Bali’s vote.” Her apparent reference was to the Muslim votes as well as those of the Dalit community.

Saying that it was Yogi Adityanath who had claimed that Bajrang Bali was a ‘vanvasi’ and a Dalit, Mayawati said, “For this, I am very thankful to Yogi-ji that he has given us important information about our ancestors. It is a happy for us that we have both Ali and Bajrang Bali on our side. Their coming together will give us very good results in these elections,” she said. She also said that the people of “Bajrang Bali’s caste” had already shunned the BJP and the Congress.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had stirred a controversy with his statement, “Agar Congress, SP, BSP ko Ali par vishwaas hai, toh humein bhi Bajrang Bali par vishwaas hai (If the Congress, the SP and the BSP have faith in Ali, then we too have faith in Bajrang Bali)”.

Yogi Adityanath was drawing the attention of the people towards a speech by BSP chief Mayawati, in which she had appealed to the Muslms to vote for the BSP-SP-RLD alliance.

Following complaints by the opposition parties, the Election Commission had sent a notice to Yogi Adityanath, asking him to submit his explanation within 24 hours of receipt of the notice.

“The commission, after considering available material in the matter, has decided to provide Yogi an opportunity to explain his stand regarding the said statement. The explanation shall be submitted within 24 hours of the receipt of the notice, failing which the commission shall take a decision without further reference,” Principal secretary, Election Commission, Anuj Jaipuriar had said.

“It seems that those chanting NaMo NaMo are leaving and those chanting Jai Bheem are coming forward,” she said, adding that it seems as if the gathbandhan in UP would do really well.

Saying that the Congress was out of power because of its poor policies, she said that the BJP would also lose the elections because of its “jumlebaazi” and “false promises”

First Published:
Apr 13, 2019 15:45 IST