LUCKNOW: Four days ahead of the 126th birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ambedkar, the Congress accused Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati of not following the philosophy of Babasaheb and Kanshi Ram (her mentor), and rather strengthening the menace called ‘casteism’.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the culmination of Bhim Jyoti Yatra, Nirmal Khatri said, “Mayawati may claim herself to be the torch-bearer of the Dalits. However, she did not follow the philosophy of Babasaheb and Kanshi Ram, both of whom advocated caste-less society. On the other hand, she only strengthened by forming Bhaichara Committees.” He further stated that the Congress would expose these antics of the BSP, and added, “It (Exposing BSP) will help us.”
The UPCC chief on this occasion also claimed that the exercise of distributing party tickets for the 2017 UP assembly polls is moving in the right direction, and said, “Names are likely to be finalized by June this year.”
Khatri also refused to comment on the possibility of Congress joining hands with the party formed after the amalgamation of Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Lok Dal. Accusing both SP and BSP of playing in the hands of PM Narendra Modi, Khatri said that Congress would not enter into any electoral tie-up with the SP or BSP.
Taking a dig at the newly appointed president of UP BJP, Keshav Prasad Maurya, the UPCC chief said, “Maurya’s selection bears testimony to the fact that the BJP wants to give a befitting reply to the SP by having a state president with tainted background.”
Reacting to the recent decision by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to ban liquor in Bihar, Khatri said, “How can we expect this to happen in UP, when during election campaign promises of having a refreshing evening medicine (shaam ki dawaai) are made by SP leaders from public platform.”
On the Bhim Jyoti Yatra (which concluded on Sunday), Khatri, said, “The three-phase yatra covered 55 districts of UP, and covered almost 10,000 kilometres. The formal culmination of the yatra would take place on April 17 at a rally scheduled to be held at village Umrawa (in Lucknow’s Itaunja area) in which senior party leaders Sushil Kumar Shinde and Madhusudan Mistry would participate.” The yatra covered 283 assembly constituencies, while the count of reserved assembly constituencies covered stands at 57.
Later in the month (in the vicinity of April 20), party strategist Prashant Kishore is likely to hold a two-day meeting with frontal organisations of the party such as NSUI, Youth Congress, Sewa Dal and Mahila Congress to name a few.
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