Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Tuesday lashed out at the opposition, particularly targeting the Congress and BJP, over issues concerning reservation and electoral bonds.

Addressing an election meeting in Jaunpur district, Mayawati said that the BSP is contesting the elections independently, without forming any alliance with the Congress, BJP, or any other parties.

“We have provided opportunities to people from all communities in the Varanasi division. Seeing the tremendous enthusiasm of the crowd, we are confident that this time we will deliver a better performance than the last time,” she said.

Mayawati said that the Congress, BJP, and other parties have been in power in most of the states since independence. However, due to their wrong policies, they were thrown out of power from the states and the Centre.

“Baba Saheb Dr B R Ambedkar served as the Law Minister in the first Congress government. He had told Jawahar Lal Nehru that SCs and STs were not getting equal reservations and that people from extremely backward classes should also get reservations in accordance with Article 340. When his demands were not met, Baba Saheb resigned,” she said.

Mayawati said that the Congress claims that it’s not against the Constitution, yet all parties are making grand promises about reservation for the sake of votes.

Attacking the BJP, she said: “The people of the country have realised that they were lured in the name of better days ahead as not even a quarter of what they were promised has been fulfilled. These people are more interested in making the capitalists more rich by offering them relaxation, and safeguarding their interests.”

Speaking on the issue of electoral bonds, the BSP chief highlighted the Supreme Court’s recent comments that shed light on significant financial support received by the BJP and Congress from big capitalists to contest elections. She emphasised that the BSP did not take any financial support from anyone and rather collected money little by little. Mayawati contrasted her party’s commitment to farmers’ welfare, recalling the BJP’s neglect of farmers while underlining the BSP’s consistent support through resource provisions and fair crop pricing in all the four governments she headed.

The BSP chief said no concrete measures were initiated to ensure the upliftment of Dalits, tribals, or any other class during the BJP rule. Dalits and tribals did not get jobs. The posts are vacant due to non-reservation. In their government, work is being done from the private sector without giving any reservation, she added.

“Exploitation and oppression also did not stop. In the BJP and RSS regimes, the situation has worsened due to the politics under the guise of Hindutva. The farmer class is also agitating. The impact of wrong economic policies is visible in the country. Inflation, poverty, unemployment, and corruption are also increasing,” she claimed.

She said that the opposition parties are trying to gain power by adopting “Sama, Daam, Dand, and Bheda”.

“Don’t be misled by such people. Don’t be misled by their promises either. These parties do not implement their promises and that is why the public has lost faith in them. Our party believes in action over mere rhetoric. Our party has a legacy of accomplishing significant feats. If our party gets a chance to form the government, we will focus on addressing ground realities. The free ration being given to the people by the Centre is not going to do any good. They need to be given work. Our party is committed to providing this. The provision of free ration is funded by taxpayers’ money and is not a generous gesture from BJP or RSS. No party is giving free ration from its own pocket,” she said.

Mayawati said that the BSP will run the government on the policy of “Sarva Jan Jeetay, Sarva Jan Sukhay”.