Mayawati calls out Congress, SP's 'double standards'; rules out future electoral alliances

Lucknow: BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday took a dig at the Congress' "Samvidhan Samman Sammelan" and urged people to be cautious of the "double standards" of the grand old party and its ally the Samajwadi Party.

She also made it clear that her party would not form any alliance with the likes of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in any election.

In a series of posts on X, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief blasted the Congress for "not honouring" BR Ambedkar with the Bharat Ratna.

The followers of Ambedkar will never forgive the Congress, which organised the "Samvidhan Samman Sammelan" in Prayagraj, for not conferring the main architect of the Constitution with the Bharat Ratna during his lifetime or after his death, Mayawati said.

1. कल प्रयागराज में संविधान सम्मान समारोह करने वाली कांग्रेस पार्टी को बाबा साहेब डा. भीमराव अम्बेडकर के अनुयायी कभी माफ नहीं करेंगे, जिसने संविधान के मुख्य निर्माता बाबा साहेब को उनके जीते-जी व देहान्त के बाद भी भारतरत्न की उपाधि से सम्मानित नहीं किया।

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) August 25, 2024

She also lashed out at the Congress for not declaring a single day of national mourning following the death of Kanshi Ram who, according to Mayawati, gave impetus to Ambedkar's movement.

The Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh at that time also did not declare a state mourning, she said.

"Be cautious of their double standards of thinking, behaviour and character," she said in Hindi.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also attacked the Congress over its demand for a caste survey, asking why it did not undertake the exercise during its tenures in government.

"The BSP has always been in favour of it because it is very important for the benefit of the weaker sections," Mayawati said.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday stressed the demand for a nationwide "caste census" during the "Samvidhan Samman Sammelan" and said 90 per cent people of the country were sitting out of the system and the step should be taken in their interest.

"They have skills and knowledge but they have no connection with this system. This is the reason why we have raised the demand for caste census," Gandhi had said.

Mayawati also attacked the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the BJP over the "ongoing conspiracy to make reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) ineffective and abolish it through classification and creamy layer".

"Is this their love for Dalits? Be careful," she said.

Mayawati further said, "Will it be appropriate in the interest of SCs, STs and OBCs (Other Backward Classes) to form an alliance with these anti-reservation parties such as the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in any election now? This will not happen at all..." The BSP had an electoral alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the 1993 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Mayawati had on Friday expressed her gratitude to Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav after the Kannauj MP demanded that a defamation case be filed against a BJP MLA for his remarks against the BSP chief.