Dalit-speak of PM Modi, BJP a sham, says Mayawati

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said his words and the acts of BJP about Dalit welfare and respect for Dalit icon Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is a sham.

Addressing the media on the occasion of birth anniversary of "Babasaheb", the four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also charged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for "abject failure" in maintaining law and order in the state.

"Both Modi and Yogi have done nothing for the oppressed, marginalised and the Dalits and they are only paying lip service to the cause of these sections of the society," she said.

This double standards -- of launching schemes and naming buildings and monuments in the name of B.R. Ambedkar while remaining silent on atrocities on Dalits -- would neither be tolerated nor accepted, the BSP supremo said.

"Atrocities on the Dalits have increased under the watch of BJP governments," she said.

Accusing the the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments of diluting the provisions of the SC/ST Act, she further said that many innocent people were being charged falsely for rioting and under other sections of the IPC for the violence that took place in the country during the April 2 "Bharat Bandh".

"If your heart is clear and you actually want welfare of the Dalits, rather than waiting for the Supremo Court on the matter pertaining to the SC/ST Act, you should convene a meeting of the Cabinet and issue an ordinance," she said.

She also blamed the Narendra Modi government of not pleading for the SC/ST Act case forcefully enough in the apex court and added that this showed they were not honest towards welfare of the Dalits, who have been oppressed for years.

The 62-year-old leader said that taking name of Ambedkar did not behove both Prime Minister Modi and the ruling BJP as every day they would trample upon the tenets of the Constitution that was the brainchild of the Dalit stalwart.

--IANS

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