Alleging that the BJP is "as corrupt as the Congress", BSP supremo Mayawati Thursday sought people's support for her party and its allies in the Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a joint rally of the BSP and its ally the Loktantra Suraksha Party floated by rebel BJP MP Raj Kumar Saini, she claimed that both the Congress and the BJP had come to power with the support of Dalits "but did nothing for them".
"The Dalits and backward communities have always been used as vote bank by the Congress and the BJP, but they failed to improve their condition," Mayawati claimed.
"We must not allow them to come to power again," she told the rally.
The BSP has fielded Shashi Saini from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat.
She said Kanshi Ram understood the plight of the Dalits and started a movement throughout the country to make them aware about their rights and need for unity. Later, he founded the BSP, Mayawati said.
Hitting out at the Congress, she said the party ruled the country for decades, but failed to eradicate poverty.
"On the pattern of the Congress, the BJP also watched the interests of corporates and the rich. Throughout five years of its rule, the BJP remained busy in 'Jumlebazi' (rhetoric) but this won't work," the BSP chief said.
"The BJP is raising national security issue to divert people's attention from its failures," she said.
Polling for 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana will be held on May 12.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)