Ignoring riot victims Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav revelling: Mayawati

BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday attacked the Samajwadi Party government in UP saying when Muzaffarnagar riot victims were suffering and needed help, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav were busy in revelry at Saifai on government money.

She also suggested that it would have been better had the artistes from Mumbai avoided performing at 'Saifai Mahotsav' on "moral grounds".

"Riot victims are facing immense problems in Shamli and Muzaffarnagar, but it is even more sad that instead of providing them help the SP government sends its ministers and legislators abroad for 'sair sapata' and its head, with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, is busy organising mela in Saifai on government money," Mayawati said at the party's savdhan rally here.

"They are busy in 'mauj masti' calling artistes from Mumbai," she said. "It would have been better had the artistes who performed there, like Salman Khan and others, stayed away on moral grounds keeping the situation in mind," the BSP chief said.

Though the former UP chief minister emphasised that media is "still dominated by people having anti-Dalit mentality", she hailed its (media's) role in highlighting the reality of SP government and also congratulated it for the same.

The BSP chief also said that she desisted from giving interviews to media fearing that her comments would have been distorted.

Mayawati criticised the chief minister for holding a press conference after the Saifai mahotsav and also condemned the blackout of some media channels which had showed "reality of the government".

She criticised all the major parties for "rubbing salt" to the injuries of Muzaffarnagar riot victims.

"On one hand, BJP honoured those involved in the riots, Congress issued unnecessary statement linking the victims with ISI and Samajwadi Party termed those living in the camps as conspirators... this has only rubbed salt to their injuries," she said.

The former chief minister said that despite the efforts of the SP government to create a rift between Dalits and Muslims by changing the names of universities named after Dalit icons during her government to those of eminent Muslim men, Dalits extended help to Muslims in Muzaffarnagar.

The BSP chief said that for keeping a check on the SP it was essential that it is wiped off in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

"Congress has failed and BSP is the one which can check BJP's communal politics," she said exhorting people to prepare for the polls.

Explaining her supporters that the party's opponents-- primarily Congress, BJP, SP-- have an internal understanding because of their "casteist mentality", Mayawati asked them to prepare for a direct fight with them on all the seats by encouraging 'bhaichara' (brotherhood) among OBCs, SC/ STs minorities and the deprived among the upper castes.

Referring to her party's performance in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, when BSP managed to win only 20 seats despite it getting absolute majority two years before in Assembly polls, she said that it was because all her opponents had arrived to "an understanding" to help each other against BSP.

"Congress, BJP and SP decided that if BSP is not stopped from reaching at the Centre it would be dangerous for them, and despite all of them being arch rivals they struck an understanding and transferred each others vote to the strongest candidate against BSP on every seat," she claimed.

"They felt that a Dalit's beti has become a chief minister and if she becomes prime minister it would be very dangerous," she said.

On BJP extending support to her party to form government in the state for the third time, she said that in return BJP wanted to contest the 2003 Lok Sabha polls with her party getting a mere 20 seats of the 80 seats in the state and had also threatened that otherwise they (BJP) would withdraw support.

"But I am a very self-respecting girl... instead of their withdrawing support I myself resigned," Mayawti said, adding that she had to face a lot problems as BJP, which was in power at the Centre at that time, "misused CBI" but she did not bow down to their wishes.

On the occasion of her birthday she also released the ninth volume of her autobiography and party's calender.