In Dubey death, Mayawati finds plank to placate Brahmins

LUCKNOW: Drawing on her tried-and-tested social engineering formula, BSP chief and four-time Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati on Sunday said the Brahmin community should not have to pay for the misdeeds of slain gangster Vikas Dubey just because he was one of their own.
In a series of tweets that reinforced her Brahmin outreach, the Dalit czarina said, “They (Brahmins) are terrorised and living in fear, and this needs to be addressed”.
Mayawati advised BJP to avoid politics in Dubey’s name or doing anything that instils fear in the Brahmin community. “The state government needs to regain public confidence and act on the basis of strong evidence,” she said.
Brahmins, who form 10.5% of the population in UP, had closed ranks with Dalits and OBCs to hoist the BSP supremo as CM for the fourth time in 2007. The consolidation of upper caste votes, especially Brahmins, paid rich dividends for BSP, particularly in the 80 reserved seats where the party had fared poorly in the past.
While batting for Brahmins as being more sinned against than sinning in the context of Dubey’s reign of terror, Mayawati did not lose sight of her Dalit, OBC and Muslim boroughs. She accused the BJP government of targeting people of the three communities in the name of going after criminals. “It is not until the state government is honest and cracks down on goons without discrimination, can the state be freed of crime,” she said.