BJP giving a communal colour to UP elections: Mayawati

BSP chief Mayawati today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of acting like the "undeclared claimant" of the chief minister's post in Uttar Pradesh, and the BJP of giving a communal colour to the Assembly polls.
Referring to Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah as "guru and chela" (master and disciple), she alleged that they held road shows in Varanasi and other cities of Purvanchal with an aim to give communal and religious colour to the election campaign.
"...And in this series Modi flouted all democratic traditions and indulged in political and electoral activities as if he himself is the undeclared claimant of the chief minister's post in Uttar Pradesh," Mayawati told reporters here.

Exuding confidence that her party is all set to form the government with absolute majority, she accused Modi of violating the Model Code of Conduct by holding a road show in Varanasi without permission and playing the religion card there.
"The BJP and the SP-Congress alliance are fighting for the 2nd and 3rd spots...For this the PM and Amit Shah have been indulging in drama to divert people's attention from their failure to fulfil the poll promises and the hardships arising out of the note ban," the BSP chief said.
"Seeing their political future in danger, they did not desist from giving a communal and religious colour to the elections," she said.

"Today, yesterday and the day before they indulged in drama, going to temples and other places...People are looking as to what the prime minister is doing...His own ministers and MPs are criticising him," she said.

She also hit out at Modi for failing to implement the
Lokpal bill.
"The prime minister says that politicians and babus have looted the nation in the past 70 years but he has not dared to bring Lokpal to counter these ills as he knows that Lokpal's first target can be their own government and it could bring an end to their autocratic style of functioning," she claimed.

Mayawati said that Modi has made a trend of showing himself as the upright and honest and till he was the chief minister of Gujarat, he did not appoint the Lokayukata there.
She further alleged that there is a policy of "kaam kam aur batey adhik" (less work and more talks) at the Centre and as a result of that, the prime minister has not been able to fulfil the promises he made to the people of his own constituency (Varanasi), due to which the BJP is forced to wander in the streets there.
"The state of the promise to clean the Ganga is for all to see...Like the Congress, this government has spent millions on it...The question is who will probe this corruption," she asked.

During his visit to Varanasi today, Modi made an impassioned plea to voters to defeat the SP-Congress combine and the BSP, blaming these parties for the plight of the state while addressing a rally at Khushipur village in Rohaniya assembly segment near here.
On the BJP's promise of closing down slaughter houses if it comes to power in the state, Mayawati claimed this issue has also been communally exploited as everyone is aware that in the BJP-ruled states, the slaughter houses are being run by people from various communities and even the BJP people are involved in it.
"They have also tried to exploit Hindu and Muslim festivals...This is part of (their) ghinauni (disgusting) politics," she said.

Mayawati also slammed Modi for his claims that he has seen poverty, saying that had this been a reality then the prime minister would not have taken the "immature decision" of demonetisation.
"As many as 125 crore people have been forced to bear the immense hardships for his (Modi) own satisfaction and to prove that he is honest...," she said.
Hitting out at the ruling SP government in the state, the BSP chief said in the party's five-year tenure, it was "kaam kam aur apradh zyada bolta hai" (crime speaks more than the works) and people will punish them for it.