Lucknow, Apr 7
Charging the BJP and Congress of considering the Mahagatbandhan their prime opponent, BSP leader Mayawati on Sunday said that in the ongoing election both the national parties were conniving to help each other to keep the alliance out. Addressing the first mammoth joint rally of the alliance at Deoband in Saharanpur, Mayawati in her 45-minute speech attacked both the BJP and Congress, and declared that it was clear that BJP was in its way out.She said BJP’s Rs 6000 a year Kisan Samman Nidhi and the Congress party’s promised NYAY of Rs 72,000 a year were no permanent solution and that the poor in the country were not looking for dole.“If elected to power at the centre my government would work towards giving permanent employment to each hand,” she said.Ridiculing Narendra Modi’s chowkidar refrain as “nautanki”, she said that the despite that the farmers are unhappy as no chowkidar has protected their crops from stray cattle.In a thinly veiled attack on AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mayawati asked why these parties remembered to visit mandirs, mazars, conduct boat rides, road shows, and padyatras only during election time.Charging the Congress of attempting to split the Muslim vote in Saharanpur to help the BJP, she fervently appealed to the Muslims to be on their guard and not benefit the saffron party by splitting their vote. Mayawati did not spare the Congress either, calling its recently released election manifesto as ‘hawa-hawai’. Describing the huge crowds as truly historic Samajwadi party national president Akhilesh Yadav said this was election for bringing in ‘Mahaparivartan’ (Great change) the time to election a new Prime Minister . “This time please snatch away the chowkidar’s chowki,” he appealed so that those intoxicated by power to teach a lesson to those spreading hatred.Yadav said that there was not much difference in the Congress and BJP as their policies were very similar. The grand alliance is meant to bring change in the country. But the Congress doesn’t want that. They want to form a government in Uttar Pradesh, he pointed out.Charging the BJP government of doing nothing for development he claimed that not a single megawatt of was added to UP’s power generation during the BJP rule in the centre and the state.Rashtriya Lok Dal’s president Chaudhary Ajit Singh pointed out that the election was to decide the future of Indian democracy.He said that the biggest strength that each Indian has been given under the Constitution is to elect a government every five years.“Now the BJP president Amit Shah says that the BJP rule is to remain for the next 50 years. Their MP Sakshi Maharaj has said that this would be the last election. Does the partywant to take away your right to chose or reject governments every five years?” asked Singh.According to the RLD leader when Modi promised “achche din” he was only speaking for himself. “He changes suits three times a day, visited so many countries, and speaks to the nation”, Singh quipped.The Deoband rally on Sunday was the first of the 11 similar joint rallies of the alliance planned across the state till May 16.
