BJP desires 'Hindu Rashtra', Modi has failed, says Mayawati

Lucknow, Oct 9 BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday accused the BJP of trying to convert India into a "Hindu Rashtra" and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had failed to fulfil his election promises.

Addressing a huge rally here, the four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also accused the government of doing "natakbaji" over the army's surgical strike on terrorist launch pads on Pakistani territory.

The Sunday event was called to mark the 10th death anniversary of BSP founder and her mentor Kanshi Ram and comes ahead of assembly elections in the state early next year.

A stampede during the rally left two aged women dead and a dozen others injured, one of them critically, police sources said.

Calling for Dalit-Muslim unity in the country's most populous state, Mayawati accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to convert the country into a "Hindu Rashtra".

If Dalits and Muslims come together, it would be enough to defeat the BJP in the state, she thundered.

Accusing the BJP of spreading communal poison, she said Dalits were also being targeted in the name of cow protection. Crimes against minorities had shot up during Modi's rule.

Mayawati was particularly harsh on the Prime Minister, accusing him of "busy converting black money into white".

Modi, she said, had done nothing but "fool" the people since taking power in May 2014.

"Modi sold a dozen dreams to the people in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls but has done nothing to deliver on them."

She also accused the BJP-led central government of using the Central Bureau of Investigation in an attempt to intimidate political opponents.

"The Modi government has connived with big industrialists and businessmen and is torturing small-time businessmen," she alleged.

She accused Modi of making frequent foreign visits and said he had woken up to the threats from Pakistan only now.

Referring to the army's September 28-29 surgical strike across the Line of Control, Mayawati said the government was doing "natakbaji" in a bid to divert the people's attention from their problems.

In any case, she argued, this was not the first time an Indian government had ordered a surgical strike on Pakistani territory.

Mayawati also targeted the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh and accused it of plundering the state coffers and letting loose criminals on the people.

If the BSP formed a government, it would dramatically improve the law and order situation, she promised.

The BSP leader said that many of the projects completed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav were initiated during her earlier regime.

Mayawati did not spare the Congress either.

She said the Congress had done nothing for Dalits and weaker sections in the state.

She warned Muslims that voting for the Congress or the Samajwadi Party would only benefit the BJP by dividing the anti-BJP votes.

IANS