THE Janata Dal (United) confirmed Wednesday that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has not been invited to the June 23 Opposition meeting in Patna. Speaking to The Indian Express, JD(U) chief spokesperson KC Tyagi said, “Any wish to join the Opposition unity was never expressed from the BSP’s side. Hence, the BSP president (Mayawati) has not been invited. On many occasions, the BSP has criticised the Congress more than the BJP.” Saying that the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) led by Odisha Chief Ministrt Naveen Patnaik and Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress have also not been invited to the Patna meeting, Tyagi said, “Only those parties and leaders who are ready to make a front against the BJP, fight against it in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have been invited.” Hitting out at the JD(U), BSP leaders said no Opposition unity was possible without it, especially in the context of Uttar Pradesh. “Opposition unity without the BSP will not be successful in Uttar Pradesh. The BSP has a strong vote base of Dalits in UP, recognised across the country,” the party said. Asked about the party’s plans for joining the Opposition before 2024, the BSP’s Uttar Pradesh president, Vishwanath Pal, said he could not comment on the matter, adding that the decision rested only with the party national president. On Wednesday, the BSP held a meeting of party leaders in Lucknow on to discuss the prevailing political scenario and the party’s preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In a press release, Mayawati spoke out against the BJP and said it was keeping a watch on the activities of other Opposition parties. “Necessary directions were issued after getting a detailed report about the preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In this context, a close watch is being kept on ongoing activities that the Opposition parties are doing to deal with the political scenario that is because of the actions of BJP and its Central government,” Mayawati said. The BSP chief accused the BJP government of encouraging “casteist, communal and religious disputes to divert public’s attention from their failures on issues of basic amenities and needs”. The release also said that Central government, along with the governments of UP, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra should “realise that there was tension and panic in the country” because of “love jihad, land jihad, religious conversion and hijab” and actions like “inquiry into madrasas, demolition of mazars (grave) and schools”. The BSP said these were “dangerous for the strength of the country”. “The government must strictly stop those creating religious frenzy in the guise of social evil,” Mayawati said. While there was no clarity on BSP plans regarding the Patna meeting, the expectation of her attending had further dipped after it did not go along with the Opposition’s boycott of the new Parliament building inauguration.
