 "'BJP behind Sena's demand to revoke voting rights of Muslims'")
"Shiv Sena's statement that voting powers of Muslims should be revoked to stop vote bank politics is unconstitutional. It said it on the instance of (the) BJP," Mayawati said at the occasion of anniversary celebrations of Bhimrao Ambedkar here.
She also said if the BJP was not behind the statement made by Shiv Sena, it (Sena) should be shown an "outside door" from the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.
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Shiv Sena courted controversy by demanding scrapping of voting rights of Muslims, saying the community has often been used for vote bank politics, evoking sharp reactions from several political parties, which accused it of trying to inflame passions and divide people.
Mayawati also attacked opposition parties, including the Congress and the BJP and termed them "anti-Dalit". "The love of the Congress, the BJP, and the SP for Baba Saheb is politically motivated," she said.
The BSP chief said Congress got Ambedkar defeated in the first Lok Sabha elections in 1952 using money power and that if there would have been "little respect", the Congress should have ensured he got elected unopposed.
Mayawati also said the Congress, which ruled the country for maximum time after independence, did not confer Bharat Ratna on Ambedkar and he was given the honour in 1989 by the then V P Singh government.
She said it was due to BSP's conditional support that the V P Singh government implemented the Mandal Commission report.
Mayawati, who has been demanding for the highest civilian honour for Kanshiram, cautioned the Dalits that the Central government might confer Bharat Ratna on the BSP founder and also declare Baba Saheb's bungalow at Delhi as a memorial before Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, to lure the community.
Terming the first 10 months of the Modi government as "disappointing", she said BJP's base was eroding and added the Samajwadi Party (SP) which had completed three years in power in the state was also wary of its position.
"Sensing their poor situation, the SP and the BJP may trigger communal riots," she said while appealing Muslims to keep away the BJP from power and support the BSP unitedly.
Accusing Modi government of depriving Dalits and backwards from reservation, she said, "Big tenders of government departments are being given to capitalists so that Dalits, ST (Scheduled Castes) and OBCs (other backward classes) do not get benefit of reservation."
On attack on her family on charges of scams and corruption, she said, "None of my family members is in politics, but everyone has the right to employment and business. What's wrong if my family members do so."