Akhilesh Yadav greeting Mayawati at a rally in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday.

DEOBAND

08 April 2019 00:28 IST

Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Ajit Singh target Congress and BJP on governance

In a display of unity and strength, ‘mahagathbandhan’ leaders Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav and Ajit Singh said at a massive rally here on Sunday that their alliance would put forward a Prime Minister, while targeting both the BJP and the Congress for their poor record of governance.

Criticising the BJP and the Congress for their ‘Manuwadi’ (anti-Dalit) policies, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati hit out at the Congress for putting up candidates who would cut into the votes of the alliance.

Appeal to Muslims

She appealed to the Muslims, in particular, not to allow their votes to be divided, pointing to the fact that the Congress had fielded firebrand local leader Imran Masood against the BSP’s Fazlur Rahman in Saharanpur.

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Ms. Mayawati came down heavily on the minimum income scheme promised by the Congress and said she would ensure jobs for the poor in the government and private sectors. She criticised the BJP for not being able to fulfil its electoral promises. “Acche din remained a jumla, an electoral promise. The BSP believes in getting things done, rather than making tall promises.”

She felt the Prime Minister and his “small and big chowkidars” would not be able to save the BJP’s fort.

‘Mirror images’

Mr. Yadav, president of the Samajwadi Party, described the Congress and the BJP as “mirror images of each other.” Reminding the people of the success of the alliance candidates in the Kairana and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha byelections, he said the ‘mahagathbandhan’ would decide the new Prime Minister. “It is an election that will decide India’s future. It is an election to bury our differences for a common goal.”

Invoking Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Ram Manohar Lohia in the same sentence, Mr. Yadav took on the BJP government for not paying the dues of the sugarcane farmers.

“The BJP is using the policy of divide and rule by misleading the youth in the name of nationalism.”

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Ajit Singh lampooned the BJP for its anti-farmer policies and said Narendra Modi could not become the Prime Minister of the nation. “He remained the PM of the BJP.”

A sea of humanity descended on the Jamia Tibbia College grounds, as the triumvirate of SP-BSP-RLD gathbandhan, turned up in the historic town for the first in a series of 11 rallies planned across U.P.

The choice of Deoband assumes importance for it is easily accessible from Muzaffarnagar, Kairana and Saharanpur, constituencies that are still recovering from the wounds of Hindu-Muslim and Thakur-Dalit riots of 2013 and 2017 respectively.

At the rally, members of the Bhim Army were seen displaying posters of its chief Chandrashekhar Azad. Ms. Mayawati has spoken against Mr. Azad while Mr. Masood has said that he had the Bhim Army’s support.

Rajesh Kumar of Navnauta village said a lot could change during the campaign. “The Dalits want to teach the Yogi government a lesson for its apathy towards the Scheduled Castes during the 2017 riots. Muslims and Dalits are united against the BJP,” he claimed.

Young Faizi Usmani said, “If Imran Masood is in our hearts, the mahagathbandhan appeals to the mind because it has Dalit votes. Muslims have a tough choice to make and many of them are still undecided.”

“The Congress should have kept this reality in mind before declaring their candidate. As of now SP and the BSP are trying to make one plus one eleven,” said SP spokesperson Naved Siddiqui.