Lucknow, October 10: Mayawati is expected to make it officially clear today whether she will continue to extend external support to the Congress-led UPA government or not. The Bahujan Samaj Party chief will do this after she consults her party's top leaders in Lucknow on Wednesday morning.
From all the signs that Ms Mayawati held out for an anxious Centre at a massive comeback rally yesterday, she is not inclined to pull the rug from under it just yet. She said though she remains opposed to reforms in retail, she is willing to be convinced of its merits. It was the decision to open up India to foreign mega-chains like Wal-Mart that cost the Prime Minister his biggest ally, Mamata Banerjee. Last month, she pulled her Trinamool Congress out of his coalition, reducing the government to a minority. To remain in power, the coalition needs the external support of both Mayawati and her arch political foe, Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said yesterday, "The Centre's decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail will prove to be detrimental for the local economy. But the Centre has a different opinion. If the decision to allow FDI benefits the farmers, small businessmen and ordinary, the BSP may in future support the decision. But in the present situation, without seeing the effects of this decision, our party will not support FDI."
But Mayawati also made it clear at her rally that the valuable support she offers must not be taken for granted. She warned that she does not expect the UPA government to last its term till 2014, and said she has told her party workers to gear up for early general elections. And she did not spare the Congress-ruled UPA for being, she said, "anti-Dalit" and "anti-poor." Among many jibes was one at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when she said, "It saddens me to see that instead of understanding the problems of the middle class and poorer sections of the population, the Centre says money doesn't grow on trees."
The reference was to Dr Singh's address to the nation last month when he explained why tough economic times demanded tough reform measures like reducing subsidy on fuel and allowing FDI in retail. Dr Singh had said in a 15-minute address to the nation last month, "Subsidies on fuel are very large, though, and the subsidy bill would have shot up to more than 2 lakh crores. Where will we find the money for this? Money does not grow on trees."
But for all her attacks on the Centre, Mayawati stands to lose more than she can gain from early elections. She needs time to rebuild her support base in UP, which rejected her overwhelmingly in the state Assembly elections earlier this year. Mayawati was also unambiguous at her first public rally since that rout seven months ago, where she is headed politically. The BSP chief clearly sees herself at the head of a national party very soon, and repeatedly exhorted her audience of nearly 4 lakh to extend the BSP's area of influence to many other states. The BSP chief said no government at the Centre has done anything for landless people in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh where Dalits, backwards and adivasis have been thrown out of their land.
The rally at Lucknow's Ambedkar Park had the usual trappings of a Mayawati show - a huge audience, a massive stage with a huge picture of her in the background, and a vitriolic attack on Mulayam Singh Yadav and son, Akhilesh, is now the chief minister of UP.
Akhilesh and Mulayam Singh Yadav, she said, were so against Dalit empowerment that they cancelled the holiday she had instituted to commemorate the death anniversary of Dalit leader, Kanshi Ram, who was her mentor.
In large parks around Lucknow, crores were spent by her on oversized statues of Kanshi Ram and herself, along with Dalit icon Dr BR Ambedkar, who led the committee that drafted the Constitution. "The state government has not only broken my statue but also a dozen statues of Dr BR Ambedkar. If it weren't for Dr Ambedkar you would have seen Mulayam Singh and family members handling the buffaloes of an upper caste person," she said.
She also said that since his sweeping victory, Akhilesh, who is 39, had failed to improve the law and order in Uttar Pradesh, or tackle corruption. "Everyone knows that during our government's time our policies were based on inclusiveness to allow entire society to benefit from it. But the Samajwadi Party hasn't done anything for Muslims in the state," she said.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav hit back, accusing the previous Mayawati government of indulging in loot in Dr Ambedkar's name.
"Had the BSP been the real followers of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, they would not have indulged in massive loot in the construction of memorials, statues and parks set up in the state in his name," Mr Yadav said yesterday, adding that the people of the state have given them the "ultimate punishment by ousting them from power".
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