Mayawati hits back at Rahul Gandhi; asks him to worry about his own party
Lucknow(PTI): BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday rejected Rahul Gandhi's claim that she had spurned an alliance offer from his Congress during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, asking him to get his own house in order instead of worrying about other parties.
Gandhi had on Saturday said that the Congress reached out to the BSP leader, offering her the chief minister's post for contesting the assembly polls together, but she did not respond.
Hitting back at the Gandhi scion, Mayawati said all the allegations levelled by him are wrong and reflect his party's "casteist mindset" and feeling of malice.
"Yesterday, the former president of the Congress had made some remarks regarding our party and especially about its chief, which clearly reflect the casteist mindset and a feeling of malice towards the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). It also shows similar feelings towards deprived sections of the society, especially the dalits," she told reporters here.
"Before levelling any allegation on the BSP, Rahul Gandhi must introspect," she said.
"The former president of the Congress is unable to manage his scattered house, but is raising fingers on the style of working of the BSP. This clearly shows the tremendous anger and hatred towards the BSP. Instead of worrying about other parties, Rahul Gandhi should think about his own party. This is my advice," she added.
The BSP supremo also accused the Congress of failing to take any concrete step during its long tenure to improve the social and economical condition of dalits and other deprived sections of the society. She also alleged that the community was not given full benefits of various other facilities, including reservation.
She also alleged that it was because of this attitude of the Congress that Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, who was the then law minister in the Congress government, had tendered his resignation.
The BSP leader also questioned the Congress' claims of preventing the BJP from coming to power.
"The Congress had fought the previous (2017) UP assembly elections with the Samajwadi Party. Despite this, it could not prevent the BJP from coming to power. The Congress should answer this," she added.
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Kangana Ranaut shown black flags in Himachal's Lahaul and Spiti, BJP files complaint with CEO
Shimla, May 20: Actor Kangana Ranaut, BJP candidate from the Mandi parliamentary constituency, was shown black flags by local people and Congress workers at Kaza in Lahaul and Spiti on Monday.
The Himachal Pradesh BJP filed a complaint with the state chief electoral officer (CEO) demanding transfer of election officials and an investigation into the incident as both the BJP and the Congress were given permission to hold rallies adjacent to each other.
The Congress workers raised anti-Kangana slogans - "Kangana, go back, Kangana Vangana nahi chalegi". They were apparently enraged over her remarks on Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in April last year.
Ranaut had tweeted a meme featuring the Dalai Lama that said, "The Dalai Lama receives a warm welcome at the White house". The photoshopped picture in the tweet showed the Dalai Lama sticking his tongue out with US President Joe Biden with a comment - Both of them have the same illness, definitely they could be friends.
Following this, a group of Buddhists staged a dharna outside her office in Mumbai.
Later she apologised saying she didn't mean to hurt anyone, and it was a harmless joke about Biden being friends with the Dalai Lama.
Leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jai Ram Thakur, who had accompanied Ranaut to Kaza to campaign for the BJP, on Monday alleged that the Congress workers tried to disturb the meeting of the BJP and pelted stones on their carcade while they were returning.
Talking to reporters, he said, "It is unfortunate that for the first time, permission was given to hold a parallel rally at the venue to the Congress where prior permission was already granted to the BJP to hold the rally.
Efforts were made to disturb our rally and the Congress workers raised shameful slogans, stopped our carcade and pelted stones, injuring one person."
Thakur added that they go for campaigning all over the state but such things have happened for the first time, which shows "frustration" of the Congress and they would take up the issue with the Election Commission.
Later, in a complaint filed with the Himachal Pradesh CEO, BJP state office secretary Parmod Kumar Thakur said the Congress workers allegedly tried to illegally restrain the political procession and even pelted stones and demanded an investigation into the incident.
"The district administration granted permission for organising a political meeting to the Congress adjacent to the place already scheduled to hold a political meeting of the BJP at Kaza under undue influence of the state government in utter violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)", he said.
In the complaint, the BJP demanded the immediate transfer of election officials from Lahaul and Spiti and said giving permission to both the parties at the same location at the same time was a "big lapse" on the part of the Election Commission "in spite of the fact that permission to the BJP was provided first and the officers involved in this act are biased against the BJP, and free and fair elections are doubtful under the circumstances."
Lahaul and Spiti SP Mayank Chowdhary told PTI that workers of both the BJP and the ruling Congress came face to face but there was no clash and no person was injured. However, one worker sprained his leg, he added.
Bhishan Shashni, Congress election coordinator for Lahaul and Spiti claimed that the Congress workers were peacefully protesting but a large number of people, who were hurt by Ranaut's remarks about the Tibetan spiritual leader, joined the protest.
Earlier, Congress candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat Vikramaditya Singh had asked why Ranaut did not visit Spiti and returned from Reckong Peo alleging that she was afraid she would be shown black flags for her remarks against the Dalai Lama.
