Mayawati questions omission of surgical strikes from PM speech

Lucknow, Oct 12: A day after Narendra Modi visited Lucknow to take part in Dusshera festivities, BSP chief Mayawati today said it was a "politically-motivated" move even as she came down heavily on the Prime Minister for omitting the army's surgical strikes from his speech.

"Though the Prime Minister talked about Ram and Jatayu in reference to ending terrorism in his speech but forgot to mention Indian Army which was responsible for successful surgical strikes," she said in a statement.

In his Dussehra address at the Aishbagh Ramlila, without specifically mentioning the surgical strikes, the Prime Minister had made strong argument against terror and launched a veiled attack on Pakistan.

He also said Jatayu, the divine vulture from the epic Ramayana, "was the first to fight terrorism". Mayawati said the hoardings installed around the venue depicted the "Prime Minister as the real hero of the surgical strikes", which makes it clear that the function was used for political and electoral gains. Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls next year.

Stressing that if Prime Minister could not wipe out the "evils of self-praise and electoral-gains" from the hearts of his supporters (who put up hoardings), Mayawati said his message will fail to find a place in the hearts of people. She said merely exhorting people to end all evils won't serve the purpose but various laws in this regard need to be implemented sternly, "especially in BJP-ruled states".

"It requires strong will power to implement the laws," she said.

She claimed had the laws been implemented, cases like the Una Dalit flogging, the Rohit Vemula suicide and derogatory comments by former BJP leader Dayashankar Singh against her would not have taken place. "...and people would not have been given a free hand to take law in their own hands in the name of gau raksha, love jihad, Hindu rashtra and conversion," she said.

"There is a need to earnestly practise what is being preached (by Modi)," she added.

PTI