Alleging a threat to her from the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and former chief minister Mayawati on Monday demanded that the rival party’s office in Lucknow should be shifted to an alternative location by the Uttar Pradesh government.
Calling SP anti-Dalit, Mayawati said before having an alliance SP chief Akhilesh Yadav binds his alliance partner with a precondition to maintain a distance from the BSP. This, she claimed has been widely publicised by the media.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, when the BSP had an alliance with the SP, the party claims to have tried to change its anti-Dalit mindset, character and face. But soon after the elections, the SP is back to its anti-Dalit casteist ways.
In her statement, Mayawati said, “SP’s heinous acts, including the Guest House incident of June 2, 1995 and many anti-Dalit policies taken during their government, vindicated SP’s anti-Dalit agenda,” she said.
Referring to a decision of the SP to build a high bridge near the BSP’s UP State Office, the former chief minister said from the bridge conspiratorial and anarchist elements could cause harm to the party office, employees and the national chief.
The BSP chief further said, “Due to this insecurity, the party is forced to hold most of its meetings at my residence and whenever a meeting is held at the party office, additional security personnel have to be deployed on the bridge there for my personal security.”
In such a situation, she said the BSP would like to make a special request to the state government to take steps to shift the SP office to a safer place lest an untoward incident is imminent.
Besides, the party demanded that the government should deal strictly with anti-Dalit elements.