india

Updated: Sep 05, 2019 17:36 IST

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said on Thursday the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh were repeating the same mistakes committed by the Congress governments in the past.

“Upset over the anti-people policies of the Congress, people rejected it. Then the BJP managed to grab power at the Centre and in various states, but the wrong policies and working of its governments clearly indicate that the party is moving the same way as the Congress. It seems it is digging its own grave,” she said.

Mayawati was addressing party leaders and office-bearers at the state unit office in Lucknow ahead of the upcoming by-polls in 13 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Hitting out at the central government, she said the economy of the country was passing through a bad phase due to the adverse impact of demonetisation and Goods and Service Tax (GST).

“Measures taken by the government to improve the economic scenario are halfhearted and delayed. People have no jobs and their pockets are empty. The government should review its policies to provide relief to the people,” she said.

Expressing concern over the rising incidents of “mob lynching, suppression of weaker sections, harassment of women”, Mayawati said the party members should help the victims in these cases.

“The law and order situation has deteriorated in UP due to increasing unemployment and poverty. The state government may resort to various tricks to divert the attention of the people from its failure,” she said.

Mayawati called upon her party’s leaders and workers to gear up for the by-elections on the 13 assembly seats, which are likely to be held soon.

“People feel harassed by the wrong policies of the central and state governments. They will teach the BJP a lesson in the by-elections,” she said.

She also appointed three state coordinators, including state unit president Munkad Ali and senior leaders Bhimrao Ambedkar and RS Kushwaha. The coordinators will hold review meetings in 18 divisions and submit their report to the party chief.

“Each division will have one zonal in-charge. The units of the BAMCEF (Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation) will work at district and assembly segment level,” she said.

Mayawati said the party had fielded senior and loyal leaders in the by-elections as part of a strategy. She told her party leaders and workers to remain alert and refrain from indulging in acts that might give an opportunity to the BJP government to take action against them due to ‘caste hatred’.

The BSP chief said resentment was brewing among the Dalits, tribals and backwards over discrepancies in the implementation of reservation in government jobs.

A large number of posts reserved for the SC/ST/OBC was lying vacant and even RSS and BJP leaders were demanding a review of reservation, she said adding the BSP had raised demanded that reservation should be included in the ninth schedule of the Constitution so that casteist elements did not get an opportunity to do politics on the issue.

She said a large number of students belonging to SC/ST/OBC categories are not getting their scholarship on time.