Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati on Wednesday accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of misusing the COVID-19 restrictions to scuttle its Brahmin outreach meetings, claiming that the ruling party is rattled by their success.
Last month, the BSP — which counts on Dalit votes — began a series of “prabuddha varg sammelans” (intellectuals’ meetings) to woo the Brahmins ahead of the next year’s Assembly polls.
The Samajwadi Party also appears set to launch a similar exercise.
After a “prabuddha sammelan” in Bareilly on Wednesday, BSP national general secretary Satish Misra claimed that both the Dalits and the Brahmins are living in fear in the State.
Meeting reporters, he also said the party will not enter into any alliance for the Assembly elections.
In Lucknow, Ms. Mayawati charged that the BJP is misusing official machinery to sabotage the BSP meetings.
She claimed that her party has been organising the meetings after obtaining necessary clearances but the authorities are now trying to impose “new conditions”.
Ms. Mayawati said at some places the district administrations have been imposing restrictions on the number of participants.
“Not only the Brahmins but everyone can see that for BJP leaders there is no ban relating to the coronavirus protocol at any programme and they have the freedom to openly flout all such rules,” The BSP supremo charged.
“But in the case of opposition parties, they have different rules and this has become clearly evident during the BSP sammelans at some places,” she told reporters in Lucknow.
‘Cases registered’
Ms. Mayawati said cases were registered against some members of the Brahmin community after a meeting on Tuesday, and called it “casteist hatred” and an attempt to “intimidate” the participants.
But this has only led to more passion for the BSP and anger towards the BJP, she said.
Ms. Mayawati claimed that alarm bells are ringing in the BJP after the “success” of these meetings.