In Uttar Pradesh, the scars left by the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots refuse to fade. The violent communal clashes, which took place a little before the general elections, have created scores of victims who are still running from pillar to post for some kind of redressal.
I bring up the riots because the speeches of BJP leaders during the UP elections have been full of just the kind of divisive language that incites violence.
The fifth phase of polling is over in UP. In light of their dismal performance, BJP leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have resorted to employing tactics of religious polarisation during their campaign. With their ‘kabristaan-shamshaan’ comments, they seem to be banking on incipient religious tensions to ride all the way to victory. These remarks only serve to underscore BJP’s desperate situation in these elections.
Demonetisation and a Winter of Discontent
After the PM’s note ban announcement, every youth and farmer has realised that the BJP only works in its own interest. More than a hundred people have lost their lives till date to demonetisation. The Prime Minister, who doesn’t forget to post updates on Facebook and Twitter when he inaugurates Neeta Ambani’s new hospital and who addresses the nation regularly in his ‘Mann ki Baat’, remains silent when it comes to discussing the victims of his note ban decision.
The citizens of Uttar Pradesh have realised that only a socially progressive party like the BSP can adequately address these issues.
UP doesn’t want any more riots. Under Akhilesh Yadav’s government, the state has lived through 400 of those. The citizens demand sister Mayawati’s government, where women, Dalits and other minorities could consider themselves safe. They demand a government that cared for their needs; a system that heard them out and addressed their complaints.
“Its Been 5 Years of Hell for Women and Dalits”
The last five years have been the worst for Dalits and women in Uttar Pradesh. Two brutalised young girls were found hanging from trees in Badaun, there were ghastly reports of gangrape in Bulandshahr, and now there are allegations of rape against Cabinet Minister Gayatri Prajapati. When ministers are embroiled in rape trials, where is the state headed? Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav himself went to Amethi to campaign for Prajapati. This is an affront to women everywhere. A minister who belongs in jail is instead being endorsed for re-election by the CM.
One cannot help but remember the time when SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, opposing capital punishment for rape in 2014, defended it by saying that “boys will be boys.”
When the leader of the party in power holds such views, what can one expect from the state government? There will be a reckoning in these elections. Citizens from all caste and religion now want sister Mayawati to become the Chief Minister for the fifth time and for the BSP to form the government in Uttar Pradesh.
“Why Does No One Raise Questions About Rs 8,000-Cr Statues?”
An accusation that is hurled with some regularity at the BSP is that they waste money on vanity projects like memorial parks and statues. To this, I ask: Why is no one raising a hue and cry about the Rs 8,000-crore statue that is being planned in Mumbai? The scale on which this government is creating statues in Maharashtra and Gujarat, why isn’t it called a government of statues?
Akhilesh’s government, that has hypocritically levelled these accusations against us, is a government dedicated solely to inauguration rituals and foundation stones. The CM has an inaugural ribbon in one hand and ceremonial scissors in the other one.
Akhilesh, who talks of development and progress, has accomplished nothing in the past five years. All his time is spent either in cutting ribbons or organising elaborate events in Saifai and Mumbai. The citizens recognise his lip-service for what it is.
Akhilesh, Rahul and A Marriage of Convenience
Akhilesh Yadav recently said that he would never have joined hands with the Congress if the infighting hadn’t broken out in the Samajwadi Party. His meaning is clear. The alliance with Rahul Gandhi is one of convenience, not happiness. When the two can’t even bring themselves to like each other, why on earth will the state do so? A dozen seats, including Amethi, will see a face-off between candidates from the Congress and the SP. Each seems bent on defeating the other.
A Conspiracy Against Mayawati
Opposition parties are floating rumours about BSP entering into an alliance with one political party or the other. This is categorically untrue. The BSP will get full majority in 2017 UP elections and then form the government.
“When We Speak, We Are Not Heard”
The BSP is used to seeing limited coverage of itself in the mainstream media. It has always been the case that the BSP and the Dalit community receive lesser media attention as compared to others. I want to tell you that what we say often goes unreported; our voices go unheard. I want to request the media to be fair in their coverage of us and to treat us in the same manner as they do with the other parties.
The results will be out on 11 March, but it seems clear now that the citizens of Uttar Pradesh will reject the forces of polarisation and division in favour of a party that works for the marginalised and the oppressed.
(Based on interactions with correspondent Abhay Kumar. The writer is a senior leader from Bahujan Samaj Party. The article reflects the views of the writer. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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