Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Supremo Mayawati on Saturday, 12 January, said that she was ready to forget the infamous ‘guest house’ incident of 1995, which had led to the bitter split between the BSP and the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) alliance of two years.
Addressing a press conference on the reunified BSP-SP alliance alongside SP President Akhilesh Yadav, India Today quoted Mayawati saying:
“Lucknow guest house kaand se desh hit ko upar rakhte hue humne saath aane ka faisla kiya hai. (We have decided to forget the 1995 guest house incident for the benefit of the country).”
Mayawati was referring to an incident dating back to 1995, where she had allegedly been assaulted and intimidated by a group of unruly SP workers. While she had managed to escape from the group with the help of BJP MLA BD Dwivedi, the incident led to a bitter fall-out between the two leading parties of Uttar Pradesh, that have now joined hands after over two decades of rivalry ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
What Led the BSP-SP to Split in ‘95?
Twenty six years ago, on 2 June, 1995- Mayawati, then the protege of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, had reportedly pulled out support from the Mulayam Singh Yadav SP government, reducing it to a minority. Mayawati had made this announcement in a rally in Lucknow and then proceeded on to UP State Guest House at Mirabai Marg, where her and a few other BSP MPs were staying.
According to Ajay Bose’s book Behenji, a group of angry SP workers then cornered Mayawati at the guest house, hurling sexist and casteist abuses her way. They even turned off the water and electricity supply to the guest house, News18, quoting the book, reported.
While the other MPs reportedly fled the scene, BJP lawmaker Brahmdutt Dwivedi came to her rescue and helped her out of the situation.
Following the incident, the two supremos of BSP and SP – Kanshi Ram and Mulayam Singh Yadav – had a bitter fallout and ended the two-year alliance they had forged earlier.
Forgive and Forget?
Twenty-three years later, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav have announced the BSP-SP alliance and pledged to forget the Lucknow guest house incident, as they claim that it is in the country’s best interest for them to ally against a communal party like the BJP.
“Yeh guru-chela ki neend udane wali press conference hai. (This news will give sleepless nights to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah)," Mayawati said, stating their goal to chase out BJP from the state altogether, India Today reported.
She also stated that the Congress would not be a part of this alliance, since the party coming to power in the state would not benefit either the BSP or the SP.
Speaking at the press conference, Yadav also thanked Mayawati for agreeing to let bygones be bygones and forgetting the guest house incident.
(With inputs from India Today and News18)
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