Bhopal: Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati here on Friday said the BJP could begin construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya before Lok Sabha elections to seek votes in the name of Hindutva. “BJP wants to construct Ram Temple at Ayodhya but I would say that the temple will not bring any change in lives of people,” said Mayawati adding that the saffron party only wishes to cash in on the religious sentiments of Hindus.
Besides, Hindutva, she said that the BJP can also exploit nationalism to woo voters. People should keep in mind that they will not rise and grow until they have participation in power, she said addressing party workers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh at Lal Parade Ground. Accusing BJP of following double standards, Mayawati said that the party had withdrawn support from VP Singh’s Government over implementation of Mandal Commission Report in 1979 and now, the same BJP has constituted Backward Welfare Commission and has given constitutional status to it. Even if BJP elevates SC/ST and OBC persons to the office of CM, PM and President, they would not be able bring any change as they would have to follow the ideology of BJP which is purely “Hindutva”, she added.
BSP suffered defeat in Uttar Pradesh as BJP and Congress played caste based politics to dent BSP’s OBC vote bank, alleged Mayawati. In fact, BJP-Congress and others joined hands to ensure defeat of BSP, she added. BSP chief targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi again saying that he sketched a rosy picture and made hollow promises to people to come in power. The people too were fed up of the UPA misrule and so toppled Congress and voted BJP to power.
Raising the issue of malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), she said that even during trial, on pressing a button for a particular candidate the votes went to some other party. Deploying such tactics, the BJP grabbed power in Centre, she alleged. “Violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district during a procession to mark the Maharana Pratap Jayanti, was a conspiracy to kill me as BJP had anticipated that I will go there and make provocative speech. However, I had smelled the conspiracy and handled things sensibly, alleged Mayawati adding that Phoolan Devi’s killer Sher Singh was chief guest of the programme.
