Will not accept any offer of President's post: Mayawati
Lucknow, Mar 27: BSP supremo Mayawati on Sunday asserted that she will not accept the offer of President's post from any party and alleged that the BJP and the RSS had spread false propaganda that she will be "made the President" if BJP comes to power in Uttar Pradesh, misleading her supporters.
In a statement after reviewing the party's humiliating defeat in the state elections, the four-time former chief minister said she is a firm disciple of Kanshi Ram who had also refused the post in the past.
"How can I accept such a post when we know that it will be the end of our party. So I want to make it clear to every BSP office bearer that in the interest of our party and movement, I will not accept any offer for the President's post from the BJP or other parties and they should never be misled in future," Mayawati said.
The term of President Ram Nath Kovind ends on July 24 and elections to the post have to held before that.
The BSP chief said she will spend every moment of her life strengthening the party across the country and urged its members not to be disheartened.
"In this election, through a well-thought-out strategy and conspiracy, the BJP, through its RSS organisation has spread false propaganda among our people that if a BSP government is not formed in UP, we will make your 'Behenji' the President of the country. That is why you should allow BJP to come to power," Mayawati said while delving into the reasons for her party's defeat.
"Let alone becoming the President, I cannot even imagine such a thing in my dream. They (BJP) also know that long ago Kanshi Ram ji had rejected this offer and I am his firm disciple," she said.
The BSP had got only one seat out of 403 in the recently-held assembly elections while in 2017 it had won 19 seats.
Addressing a state-level meeting held at the party's state office here, Mayawati also alleged that the BJP instead of providing jobs to the poor, gave free ration and made them 'lachaar' (helpless) and 'gulam' (slave).
She said apart from members of her caste (Jatav, those who belong to other castes in the Dalit community should also be "taken out of Hindutva" and brought back to the BSP.
Despite staking claim to votes of the Muslim community and forming alliances with dozens of organisations and parties, the SP was far away from coming to power, Mayawati said.
"In such a situation, now SP can never come back to power here and neither can this party stop the BJP from coming to power," she said.
Mayawati claimed the Muslims are "repenting" after voting for the SP.
"'They (muslims) should not make any such mistake which will give more strength to BJP. I strongly appeal to them in this regard," she said.
"We have to make every effort to bring the directionless people out of the clutches of the SP and bring them back to our party. Now all other Hindu communities have to be associated with the BSP cadre like in 2007," she said.
Mayawati said to bring her party back to power in UP, she is bracing for a fierce struggle and confrontation with all the ''casteist, capitalist and feudal forces''.
"Now, every moment of my life will be spent on strengthening my party at every level in the whole country," she said.
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Paper leak mafia thriving under BJP's double-engine governments: Bhagwant Mann
Shimla (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday slammed the Centre over the alleged NEET paper leak and said that such incidents are surfacing in regions governed by the BJP's 'double-engine' and 'triple-engine' governments.
He said the leak and cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance test (NEET) 2026 examination is a major failure on the part of the Union government.
"This is not the first time that a paper leak has happened. Such incidents have surfaced in 2017, 2021, 2024, and now even in 2026 and every time, a CBI inquiry is initiated, arrests are made, yet after a short while, the accused are released on bail," he said.
Mann, who arrived at the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium to boost the morale of the Punjab Kings team ahead of their upcoming IPL match, told the media that lakhs of students toil day and night, harbouring dreams of transforming their families' fortunes, but when exams are cancelled due to paper leaks, these students are left heartbroken.
The NEET 2026 paper held on May 3 was cancelled on May 12 after reports of a paper leak in Rajasthan.
He said that the paper leak mafia is predominantly surfacing in regions governed by the BJP's 'double-engine' and 'triple-engine' governments. "Paper leaked, dreams shattered, the country's administrative system is unable to conduct even a single examination properly", he added.
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mann said that while Modi imposes various restrictions on the public, he himself continues to embark on foreign tours.
He asserted that the public deserves to know the country's true economic situation.
"The prime minister must disclose the current status of the country's oil reserves, the extent of our gold reserves, and fundamentally why restrictions are being imposed on every single commodity", he said.
No other nation has imposed such restrictions and the ongoing war is being used as a pretext, even though the country's economy is already in a precarious state, Mann added.
Regarding the ongoing campaign against drugs in Punjab, Mann said that the state government is continuously taking action against drug traffickers and asserted that a large number of traffickers are being sent to jail and that Punjab will soon move towards becoming drug-free.
Speaking about the upcoming IPL match between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians to be held in Dharamshala, Mann said that he also holds the portfolio of Punjab's sports minister and has arrived in Dharamshala to cheer the team.
