Mayawati: Congress, BJP have tacit understanding

Lucknow, May 2 Hitting out at both the BJP and the Congress, BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday blamed the two national parties of having a tacit understanding in the continuous Lok Sabha polls and unitedly working against the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh.

Congressmen think it's anything but an issue if the competitors of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win the electoral battle, but the nominees of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance should not win the polls, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister alleged.

"Like the BJP, the Congress has begun saying absurd things regarding the SP-BSP coalition. Obviously both (Congress, BJP) have an implicit comprehension and are challenging against our coalition unitedly," Mayawati stated, while speaking to the voters not to squander their votes by supporting the Congress.

Addressing a poll rally in Barabanki on Wednesday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had affirmed that the control of Mayawati and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav was in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"In the last five years, did the SP or the BSP take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly? Did you hear any statement from Mayawati or (SP patriarch) Mulayam Singh Yadav? See, I am not scared of Modi. I couldn't care less. In the event that somebody is frightened, it is Narendra Modi. In any case, the control of Mayawati and Akhilesh is in the hands of Modi," he had said.

Attacking the prime minister, Mayawati stated, "He has made a few remarks on the BSP, taking the name of Bhim Rao Ambedkar. I want to tell him that Baba Saheb's name might be for vote politics and self-interest for them, but he is the soul of the BSP. The BSP does not practice the politics of 'Ramnaam japna, janta ko thagna' (taking the name of Ram and duping people) like the BJP."

"I want to advise the BJP that it ought not try to become fake 'Ambedkarwadi' like the Congress," she added in a statement issued here.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo alleged that in line with the politics of caste and hatred, the Congress had fielded candidates to overcome the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh and benefit the BJP.

"The Congress and the BJP do not want people who suffered due to casteism, communalism, capitalism to rule in any way. These parties are two sides of the same coin," she said.

Stating that Mulayam Singh Yadav blessing Modi in Parliament was because of his "seniority", Mayawati stated, "He never intends to bless Modi and this is known to all."

"I need to tell the Congress that its leader Rahul Gandhi isn't old, yet what was he doing by taking Modi in his arms? As the Congress and the BJP realize that they will be cleared out from Uttar Pradesh in this decision, they are disturbed," she included.

Mayawati said the prime minister was mum on Pakistan for the last five years and now, during election time, he was showing all his courage to divert the attention of people from the core issues and hide the "failures" of his government.

"During its previous stint, the BJP took out Masood Azhar (of prison) but also left him abroad and now, they are trying to get votes in his name which is condemnable," she included.

In a huge diplomatic victory for India, the United Nations Sanctions Committee assigned Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist on Wednesday after China lifted its hold on a proposal to ban him.