Mayawati's rule saw more incidents of atrocities on dalits: BJP

Targeted over the issue of atrocities on Dalits, BJP on Sunday hit out at BSP supremo Mayawati claiming that Uttar Pradesh witnessed heightened attacks on members of the community under her rule and said her speech at the Agra rally proved she is frustrated at her party's prospects in next year's state assembly elections.

In a statement issued here, BJP accused Mayawati of trying to fool the electorate of Uttar Pradesh and of invoking Dalit issues for electoral gains.

"People of UP know that whenever BSP has ruled the state, the graph of Dalit atrocities has increased. A Home Ministry report points out that between 2008 and 2011, 30,000 cases of Dalit atrocities were registered and 1,074 Dalits killed," party secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

He said for votebank politics, she reaches Una in Gujarat but does not meet the rape victim in Uttar Pradesh.

"She invokes Dalits for electoral gains ahead of elections. But in reality she has no interest in uplift of the community," he said.