BSP to support Muslim reservation: Mayawati

Etawah (UP), Mar 27: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati today said her party would support any move by the Centre to provide reservation to Muslims if voted to power in the state. Addressing an election meeting in the native place of Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ms Mayawati said her party was not against Muslims and the opposition parties had conspired to term the BSP ''anti-minority''.

''If my party is voted to power, reservation for Muslims would be on the top of the agenda,'' she said.

Claiming that her party had given equal representation to all sections of the society, the BSP supremo said a misinformation campaign had been launched by the Opposition to ''confuse'' the voter.

She said the ruling Samajwadi Party was getting weaker by the day after rebel party MP Beni Prasad Verma announced to contest the polls from a separate outfit.

''The SP is contesting the elections on the agenda of corruption, criminalisation and misgovernance,'' Ms Mayawati added.

Reiterating that SP leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh would flee the country after the elections, she said if a BSP government was formed, it would put them behind bars for their ''corrupt practices''.

UNI