BJP using money power to break rivals: Mayawati

“I am glad that the popularity of our party is not affected even a little bit by the entry or exit of any such aaya raam gaya raam(party hoppers) in any state,” she said, without mentioning the names of Swami Prasad Maurya and RK Chaudhary, the two leaders who have left the BSP after accusing Mayawati of taking money to give party tickets. She did not directly link the BJP and the two former BSP leaders.

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Mayawati said BJP is rattled by “rising popularity of BSP” and is “having to use all sorts of tactics and indulge in all sorts of theatrics”. She quoted Amit Shah’s recent statement in which he had mocked chief minister Akhilesh Yadav by asking if it was US president Barack Obama’s duty to improve law-and-order in UP, and said the BJP president’s remark was “childish” and “pointless”.

“Recently, he has been going to various places in UP and making these statements about the problem of law-and-order, goonda raaj and jungle raaj in UP. But is it not BJP government’s duty to fulfill its constitutional responsibility? Does Prime Minister have no responsibility towards this collapsed system?,” she said, as she reiterated her demand of imposing President’s rule in the state.

Mayawati said the central governments have used their constitutional powers to restore order in the states earlier, including in 1992 when BJP government was dismissed after the demolition of Babri Masjid. She said BSP is not demanding “something unconstitutional like what the central government did in Uttarakhand”.

The former UP chief minister said BJP leaders used to promise to act against the state government over law-and-order before they came to power in the state. “Now, BJP’s graph is falling so it has colluded with Samajwadi Party to stop the BSP,” she said.

Mayawati said Shah’s programmes in UP are being called “booth management committee” meetings because the BJP cannot gather enough people to make them rallies. She said most of the crowd that turns up at BJP rallies is either from outside the state or gathered with the help of nine to ten persons who have been given assurance of tickets for assembly elections.

Mayawati said the people will not get misled by BJP leaders’ rhetoric, and their mentioning of Obama, citing of ancient stories of gods and goddesses and discussing the construction of Ram temple will not get them any political benefit. “They only need to fulfill all their Lok Sabha elections’ promises before the assembly elections in UP. But they will not do so,” she said.