Mayawati lambasts Cong govt in Punjab, calls it 'anti-Dalit'

Nawanshahr, Feb 08: BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday lashed out at the successive Congress governments at the Centre and in Punjab for their alleged anti-Dalit stance and policies.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) decided to have an alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab for the February 20 polls so that aspirations of Dalit stalwarts like Dr B R Ambedkar and BSP founder Kanshi Ram could be fulfilled, she said.

Kickstarting her party's and its alliance SAD-BSP's election campaign at a "Chon Jan Sabha" at Dana Mandi here, she said time had come when Congress government in Punjab too needs to be shown the door.

Terming Congress "a jabardast Dalit virodhi party" (anti-Dalit party), she said the party had always been against the weaker and deprived sections including adivasis, Dalits and backward classes.

"Congress because of its anti-Dalit and anti-poor stance neither conferred Barat Ratna on Dr B R Ambedkar nor on Kanshi Ram though they qualified for it in all respects," she lamented, adding that the then Congress government at the Centre did not announce even a day's mourning on the death of Kanshi Ram.

"Dalits had to wait for V P Singh government at the Centre to implement the recommendations of Mandal Commission Report and conferred Bharat Ratna on Dr B R Ambedkar," she said.

Continuing her anti-Congress diatribe, she said the party, after having been thrown out of the Centre and in majority of the states, has now started "natakbaji" (theatrics) of being pro-Dalit and pro-backward classes.

Referring to Rahul Gandhi announcing Charanjit Singh Channi as the party's next Chief Minister's face of Punjab, she said though she was skeptical about the Congress returning to power in the state, "Channi would not be given a free hand in running his government if at all Congress returns to power".

"Remote control will remain in a non-Dalit's hands and even Channi could be shown the door once elections are complete," she said, adding that Congress named Channi as the chief ministerial candidate only in order to garner Dalit votes.

She criticized Chief Minister Channi too "who allegedly failed to see the Congress game plan in declaring him the chief minister's face", for not remembering Dalits' Guru, Guru Ravidas though he paid obeisance at a Mandir in Himachal Pradesh on being declared the next chief minister in case the Congress managed to return to power in Punjab.

She said she had full confidence that on attaining power, alliance's Chief Minister's face Sukhbir Badal would initiate pro-poor policies and programmes on the pattern of Uttar Pradesh (during BSP's rule) in Punjab to make the poor stand on their feet.

"The present Dalit chief minister, except making announcements, did not take any steps for the welfare of weaker sections," she alleged.

Castigating BJP too for following "anti-Dalit, anti-farmer" policies, she said she was confident that none of the anti-farmer policies of the BJP would be implemented in Punjab on assuming power by the alliance.

All sections including the members of upper caste are "suffering due to wrong policies of BJP government" in the country, she said.

She appealed to the party cadres not to fall prey and to be wary of the "election-time promises" and 'bhay' (fear) of various parties and vote in favour of the alliance candidates across Punjab. "Our party believes in giving results as has been shown during my terms as the chief minister in Uttar Pradesh," she said.

"If alliance on coming to power fulfils the aspirations of Kanshi Ram, it will be a great tribute to the BSP founder," Mayawati added.

The AAP too came in for severe criticism at her hands when she said that ground realities in Delhi were quite different than what was being claimed by the party in Punjab. "The AAP failed miserably during the peak of coronavirus," she said.

She also sought to dispel the alleged misconception in the country that land of farmers were snatched and given to Dalits during her terms in Uttar Pradesh as the chief minister.

"Land of not a single farmer was given away to Dalits during her four tenures as Uttar Pradesh chief minister," she emphasized. "Only government land was given".

"Parivartan (change) for a better tomorrow is in your hands," she said, urging the audience to strengthen the hands of Sukhbir Badal. She also wished former chief minister M and SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal a speedy recovery.

"Parkash Singh Badal is filled with a wish to serve the state till his last breath," she added.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal who arrived a full one hour before the arrival of Maywati on the stage, in his address heaped praise on Mayawati and criticized the Congress for "stalling various schemes and projects" including the "sacred memorial project" at Shri Kuralgarh Sahib near Garhshankar, a spot related with Guru Ravidas' visit during his lifetime.