LUCKNOW, Sep 16: Going all out to woo Dalits in the run up to 2017 Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, BJP president Amit Shah today accused Congress, BSP and Samajwadi Party of exploiting the community for their “own political interests”.
“Rahul Gandhi’s ‘nana’ (Jawaharlal Nehru) did not allow (B R) Ambedkar to go to Parliament … Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati have exploited Dalits for their own political interests whenever they have got an opportunity,” he alleged.
Shah was addressing ‘Manavta Sadbhav Sammelan” at Kanshiram Smriti Upvan, a memorial set up by Mayawati when she was the chief minister of the state.
“Rahulji is projecting himself as the messiah of Dalits and ‘Behenji’ (Mayawati) is also making tall claims … These parties only make noise but it is BJP which developed all the seven memorials associated with Ambedkar,” he said.
Stressing that BJP got the support of Dalits during last Lok Sabha polls, Shah said Narendra Modi came to power with their (Dalits’) blessings.
However, the programme organised to denounce the statement of Samajwadi Party leadar Azam Khan against Ambedkar, did not find any mention by Shah.
State BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya demanded the dismissal of Khan for showing disrespect to Ambedkar and said his party will continue its struggle till the demand was met.
Maurya also attacked Mayawati alleging that she was selling party tickets and all those who raised their voices, were shown the door.
The programme was conducted by former BSP leader Jugal Kishore.
Earlier this month without naming Ambedkar, Azam Khan had said in Ghaziabad, “The statue (of Ambedkar) pointing its finger into the distance seems to say not only the plot of land on which it stands, but also the one towards which it points its finger is owned by it.”
Meanwhile, BSP president Mayawati termed Shah’s programme in the state capital as a complete “flop”, saying BJP has “wrong intentions” and only wanted to make “political and electoral mileage” out of Azam Khan’s statement against Ambedkar.
In a statement issued here, Mayawati said she was the first one to condemn the statement of Khan and had asked him to tender public apology for the same.
Khan’s statement was made at the instigation of the UP chief minister, she alleged.
Mayawati said that Shah’s claim of his party being pro-Dalit was “wrong” and it was “ignoring” the atrocities on them.
She said that BJP’s real face has been exposed in various incidents like the Rohit Vemula and Una cases. (PTI)
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