Mayawati slams BJP for delay in urban local bodies polls

BSP chief alleges that the BJP is busy in fulfilling the RSS agenda

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Friday targeted the ruling BJP for delayed urban local bodies polls in the State and alleged that the saffron party is busy in fulfilling the agenda of its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). 

“The BJP would have given emphasis on OBC reservation in the civic polls, if it had the right intention and aim was to not delay the urban local body polls, but the party is busy in Sangh’s appeasement by involving in issues such as jihad, madrasa survey, conversion,” Ms. Mayawati said. She issued a statement after the party’s one-day convention attended by senior leaders and district chiefs from Uttar Pradesh and adjoining Uttarakhand.

The former four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also alleged that both the BJP and the Congress are ‘anti-reservation parties’. Ms. Mayawati claimed that both the national parties have made the constitutionally guaranteed right of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) almost ineffective and have the same attitude towards the OBC groups.

“Due to the casteist mindset of these parties, thousands of posts reserved for OBCs, SCs and STs are vacant in the government sector. Even the intention of the Samajwadi Party (SP) is not correct on the reservation issue,” the former Chief Minister added.

The BSP meeting was convened at a time when the OBC reservation issue came into limelight in view of the Allahabad High Court order on Tuesday directing the State government to notify the Urban Local body (ULB) polls at the earliest without any reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The opposition parties are trying to project the ruling regime for being against OBCs. Amid coming under pressure from different quarters, the State government appointed a five-member commission to look into the issue of reservation for the OBCs in the urban bodies and appealed in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order.