Speaking at her second election rally in two days in the NCR, which votes in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls this Friday, BSP chief and former CM Mayawati lashed out at the BJP on Monday for acquiring land from farmers in Gautam Budh Nagar and Bulandshahr at “extremely low prices” in the name of development.
“The farmers of the country are very unhappy with their various problems under the present BJP government. Especially in Gautam Budh Nagar and Bulandshahr, farmers’ land has been taken at throwaway prices in the name of development, and they are not given proper compensation, due to which our farmer brothers keep agitating every other day,” she said in Sikandrabad, where she campaigned for party candidate Rajendra Singh Solanki.
Farmers in GB Nagar have been protesting against the three industrial development authorities for more than four years, demanding bigger abadi plots and better compensation. The state has constituted a three-member committee to address their concerns.
The development of Noida, she told the gathering, properly started during her tenure as CM, adding that the upcoming Noida International Airport, for which BJP is taking credit, was her brainchild.
“When BSP govt was formed with a full majority under my leadership in UP for the fourth time, Noida, Greater Noida, and surrounding areas were in poor condition. No development had taken place. We developed this area and created the district of GB Nagar. We built a big university in the name of Gautam Buddha and the expressway. Those who are talking about building Jewar airport, its outline and blueprint were prepared by my government,” Mayawati said.
Directly addressing the Rajput community, which is believed to be unhappy with BJP over under-representation in ticket distribution, she said picking Solanki, a Rajput, was part of a strategy. She pointed out that in previous elections, BJP benefited from the division of votes due to Gurjar community candidates getting tickets from BSP and other opponent parties.
“We gave tickets to people from the Gurjar community, but our efforts were undermined by division of votes since other parties also fielded candidates from the same community. BJP took full advantage of this. Therefore, we decided that to stop BJP from winning, we should field representatives from some other community… People from the Gurjar community should not feel that BSP has neglected them. In place of this seat, we have given a ticket to a person from the Gurjar community in the Baghpat seat,” she explained.
For the second day, Mayawati hit out at BJP’s “divisive” politics, saying Muslims are being harassed and oppressed.
“In the past few years, people from the Muslim community have been targeted and harassed in the name of Hindutva. It will stop if our government is formed at the Centre,” she said, underlining that BSP had not tied up with any party and asking her supporters to remain alert to “hawa-hawai” (frivolous) promises.
