By andalib akhter
BSP Supremo Mayawati today cautioned Muslims against voting for Congress or Samajwadi party in forthcoming Uttar Pradesh elections, saying voting them will ultimately help the saffron BJP.
Seeking Muslims support for her party in drubbing, Mayawati urged the community not to waste their vote as there is infighting in Samajwadi Party and Congress lacks a voter base in Uttar Pradesh.
Mayawati was addressing a rally in Lucknow on the occasion of party founder Kanshi Ram’s 10th death anniversary.
Promising to restore rule of law in Uttar Pradesh, BSP Supremo alleged that minorities were facing discrimination under Modi government and SP is befooling them in Uttar Pradesh
Criticising Samajwadi Party, Mayawati said due to “rampant crime and anarchy” incidents like Muzaffarnagar, Dadri, Mathura and Bulandshahr have occurred.
”There is a tussle for supremacy going on in the SP between Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son Akhilesh Yadav and brother Shivpal Singh Yadav and its result will be that the Yadav vote will split as each will try to ensure the defeat of candidates owing allegiance to the other,” Mayawati said.
”In such circumstances Muslims should not waste their ballot by voting for them or else it will help the BJP…. Similarly Congress does not have a vote base and voting for it will also benefit BJP,” Mayawati said.
On saffron party Maya wati said that ‘Communal forces are becoming stronger and Muslims are being targeted in the name of love jihad, ‘gau raksha’ and religious conversion.
”Ever since the BJP government has come at the Centre, Muslims and other minorities are being subjected to discrimination. The minority status of Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia is being snatched away”, she stressed.
Mayawati also made it clear that her party will go alone in the three states going to polls early next year– Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, and cautioned the people against any canard that BSP might enter into an understanding for forming as government with the BJP in case it fell short of majority.
She said there was no truth in these rumours which were being spread to divide Muslim votes and asserted that such a situation will not arise.
”To stop the BJP, the vote should not go to either the Samajwadi Party or the Congress as with every Assembly seat having 22 to 23 per cent dalit votes, BSP can sail through with the help of Muslim votes or else the same scenario can emerge that was seen in 2014,” she stressed.