Victory in UP will embolden Modi govt to end quota, claims Mayawati

Lucknow, Jan. 21: Latching onto RSS leader Manmohan Vaidya’s remarks advocating review of reservation policy, BSP Chief Mayawati today claimed that a victory for BJP in UP Assembly polls will embolden the Modi government to end quota and asked dalits, tribals and other backward classes to “teach BJP a lesson” as in Bihar.
The BSP leader, who has been trying to woo Muslim voters to form a winning combination with dalits in the UP Assembly election, also appealed to members of minority community not to “waste” their vote by supporting Samajwadi Party, asserting that only BSP can stop BJP from gaining strength.
“I want to tell people from these (reserved) communities that in case BJP somehow comes to power in UP it will boost the morale of their government at the centre and it will immediately end benefits of quota for the dalits, adivasis and other backward castes or make it ineffective,” the former Chief Minister said.
Mayawati warned RSS and BJP against issuing “threats” of scrapping reservation and alleged that such remarks exposed the double face of the saffron outfits and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Like Bihar, they need to be taught a lesson in UP so that this party (BJP) and Sangh no longer indulge in unconstitutional talk of ending reservation,” she said at a press conference and exhorted members of the reserved castes to ensure BJP’s defeat.She was reacting to RSS publicity chief Manmohan Vaidya advocating review of reservation policy while speaking at Jaipur Literary Festival yesterday.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s similar remarks about the need for a review of the reservation policy, just ahead of Bihar polls in 2015, had cost BJP dearly as it saw a consolidation of the electorate from the backward classes in favour of Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance.
“Any government, specially BJP and RSS cannot snatch the right to reservation. If Modi government brings a law for ending reservation, the people belonging to these sections will teach them a lesson and they will forget all about doing politics,” Mayawati told newspersons here.
“The people in the BJP and RSS should desist from issuing ‘bandar ghudki’ (threats) of ending reservation to sections who have been given this right under the Constitution,” Mayawati said.
“While exposing the double standards and casteist mentality towards these sections, I want to say that that the right to reservation is their constitutional right which has been given to them by Ambedkar,” she said. “This also shows the double face of BJP, its ideologue and Modi towards Babasaheb Ambedkar who was the messiah of dalits, advasis and other backward classes,” she said.
She said under these circumstances, these sections should unitedly vote only for the BSP which had been fighing to save quota.
Vaidya had yesterday kicked up a row with remarks favouring a review of reservation policy, saying even the architect of the Constitution B R Ambedkar had not favoured its continuance in perpetuity.
But later, Dattatreya Hosabale, Joint General Secretary of the RSS, said that reservation as provided by the Constitution should continue and there should be no unnecessary controversy.
Mayawati also appealed to the people, specially Muslims, not to vote for SP, saying this will directly help BJP. “If the minorities vote for the SP, their votes will be a total waste and it will directly help the BJP,” she said adding that for checking the BJP from gaining strength, “the minorities should vote for the only party which is its true well wisher and has been active to defeat the saffron party.”
“It is necessary that the minorities fully back the BSP in order to put a check on the dictatorial attitude of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government,” she said.