‘BJP, not BSP, will fulfil Ambedkar’s mission’

On a day Mayawati indicated her willingness to be part of the anti-BJP front, the Bharatiya Janata Party coined a new slogan apparently to embarrass the BSP chief.

Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who participated in Ambedkar Jayanti function at the BJP office, tweaked the popular BSP slogan ‘Baba tera mission adhura, ab behenji karengi poora (Behen Mayawatiji would fulfill Ambedkar’s mission). In the new slogan, he replaced ‘behenji’ with Bharatiya Janata Party.

Appropriating the BSP’s slogan is a saffron ploy to embarrass Mayawati who has alleged that tampered EVMs were responsible for the BSP’s defeat in Uttar Pradesh at the hands of the BJP.

“Now, if there is one leader in the country who is really committed to the welfare of dalits, OBCs and other weaker and marginalised sections of the society, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He alone is capable of transforming the lives of people and that is why we are saying that it’s the BJP, and not the BSP, that will fulfil Ambedkar’s mission,” Maurya said.

This wasn’t the only act of posturing that the BJP indulged in on Ambedkar’s 126th birth anniversary.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath started the day visiting the Ambedkar Mahasabha office where urns of Ambedkar are kept.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the Mahasabha office in 2016 to set his party’s dalit agenda going in UP.

The BJP and its allies won 75 out of 85 reserved seats in the 2017 UP polls. The SP-Congress combine won seven reserved seats, pushing the BSP to an embarrassing third spot even on reserved seats.

Mayawati has not visited the the Ambedkar Mahasabha office.

Mayawati’s decision to appoint her brother Anand Kumar as the party vice-president provided further push to the BJP that is looking to hold on to its recent gains in the Dalit-dominated regions till the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a second term to carry forward his development agenda.

“Now, she has entered into dynastic politics too. May we ask what’s the qualification of her brother to be appointed directly as party vice-president. It shows that she hasn’t learnt the lesson that people taught her in 2017 Uttar Pradesh polls,” said Bharatiya Janata Party leader Chandramohan.

APPROPRIATING THE BSP’S SLOGAN IS A SAFFRON PLOY TO EMBARRASS MAYAWATI