Mayawati demands reservation in private schools

BSP president says Centre should improve primary education system where mostly weaker section studied

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati today demanded reservation for dalit students in the private schools in the country.

Attacking the Narendra Modi government for allegedly attempting to deprive Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Delhi-based Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI) of minority institution tag, Mayawati said the Centre should instead improve the primary education system, where the majority of students studied belong to the dalit and other deprived sections.

Earlier, the Attorney General had said JMI was not a minority institution as it was created by an Act of Parliament. He had also told the Supreme Court that the legislature had never intended AMU to be a minority institution.

Addressing the media at BSP office here, Mayawati said a large number of people belonging to the deprived and oppressed sections amongst the Hindus had converted to Buddhism, Islam and Sikhism.

"The majority amongst the minorities in India were originally lower caste Hindus, who had converted to other religions due to discrimination and oppression. Therefore, we consider them as our brethren," she underlined.

Questioning Modi's dalit outreach through express of grief at the suicide of Hyderabad University dalit scholar Rohith Vemula and waxing eloquent on dalit pantheon Bhimrao Ambedkar, Mayawati asserted the talks of allowing dalit students to study in AMU and JMI were only political tactics.

She warned that even if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government bestowed Bharat Ratna to BSP founder Kanshi Ram or elevated dalit as top party leaders or nominated them as chief minister candidate, the dalits should be wary of such move.

Observing that Congress was on oxygen, she lambasted its vice president Rahul Gandhi for his "theatrics" of staying at dalits' households and breaking bread with them. "All this is pure drama arranged by the Congress party itself."

She noted SP had become an alter ego of BJP and RSS. "The ruling SP knows that it would not return to power in Uttar Pradesh next year. Therefore, its cadres are amassing wealth, while the law and order situation is worsening every day."

Mayawati announced if BSP came to power in 2017 UP polls, it would put anti-social, mafia and communal elements behind the bars.