Maya seeks votes to keep communal forces at bay
THANABHAWAN ( SHAMLI): Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Monday warned the Muslims against division in their votes and asked them to support her party en masse if they wanted to keep ‘communal forces at bay’.
Addressing a rally i n Thanabhawan of Kairana constituency, the BSP president accused the SP and BJP of being hand in glove and orchestrating the riot for their political benefits. She held the ruling Samajwadi Party government’s inefficiency responsible for the clashes in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts, saying ‘Muslims suffered the most’.
Mayawati said criminal, corrupt and anti-social elements were active under the SP rule and reminded the people that she did not allow such elements to raise their heads during her reign in the state. “I formed government even with the BJP but never allowed them to impose their ideology on the government and kept them within their limits”, she reiterated and attacked Congress and BJP for ignoring developmental activities in the state.
She said, “These two parties ruled at the centre but seldom paid heed to development in UP.” She narrated how during her rule she sent a proposal to the centre regarding inclusion of 17 other backward castes in the list of Schedule Caste and Tribes, a separate state for inhabitants and western UP and many developmental projects but received no response.
The BSP has fielded Kanwar Hasan from Kairana against the BJP stalwart Hukum Singh and RLD’s Kartar Singh Bhadana. BSP’s sitting MP Tabbasum Begum`s son Nahid Hasan is contesting on SP ticket and an FIR has been lodged against him in Shamli for using foul language against BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and BSP chief Mayawati.
Parts of Kairana constituency that fall in Shamli district bore the brunt of communal clashes in September last year. Many families from violence-affected villages shifted to relief camps and many of them have not returned to their native villages yet. It is a common belief in the area that the riot has triggered polarisation on communal lines and prevailing distrust between two communities would have its effect on the election.