New Delhi: BSP supremo Mayawati on Thursday sought an apology from BJP president Amit Shah for promising “Kalyan Singh-type” good governance in Uttar Pradesh, reminding the people that the former chief minister was dismissed for “poor law and order and contempt of court in 1992”.
“Amit Shah has humiliated 22 crore people of the state by promising a government similar to the one led by Kalyan Singh, who was dismissed for poor law and order and contempt of court…he needs to apologise for it,” she said in a statement hours after Shah’s remarks at a rally in Etawah.
“Actually, the BJP has no example of good governance and its promise of a Kalyan Singh-type of government only exposes this fact…The BJP president should know that Kalyan Singh was dismissed in 1992 and President’s Rule was imposed in the state,” Mayawati recalled.
The Bahujan Samaj Party chief said the situation in the state was not similar to the one prevailing in 2014 and claimed that the people were now “seeing the truth in the claims being made by the BJP”.
“Their claims about the security situation at the border is also wrong as firing is taking place on a daily basis there,” she said.
Mayawati also flayed Shah for “wrong publicity” on crime control and law and order during her party’s rule in the state, claiming that “strict and prompt action” was taken in all cases which had often “surprised” her political opponents.
Describing as “mischievous” Shah’s allegations holding the BSP as much responsible for corruption during the UPA government, she said her party was never a part of the government but had only given outside support to “keep the communal forces at bay”.
“People have punished the UPA for its corruption and shortcomings, but the Modi government should also remain prepared for their ‘burey din’ (bad days) as their works and decisions have also been anti-people like that of the Congress,” she alleged.
Holding the BJP-led Central government responsible for the “bad state of affairs” in Uttar Pradesh, she asked what concrete steps were taken by it in the last two years and referred to the “exodus” of the youth to the other states for employment.
“The situation was very different during the BSP rule when people from other states were coming here for employment…Amit Shah needs to check his facts before making any comment on the BSP,” said Mayawati.
Meanwhile, a minister in the Samajwadi Party (SP) government in the state described Shah’s comments as “childish”, claiming that after the setting up of Niti Ayog, Uttar Pradesh had lost Rs 9,000 crore of central grants.
“The Centre is meting out stepmotherly treatment to Uttar Pradesh. Shah and the Prime Minister should tell what has the Centre done for the state which gave 73 MPs to the BJP (including two of the Apna Dal),” said Rajendra Chowdhury.
“The Gujarat model, which the BJP used to publicise, has failed and the party is losing that state. Farmers there are in a miserable condition,” he claimed, adding that “despite conspiracies against the SP government, the BJP would not succeed in the state”.