Dismissing BJP president Amit Shah’s claim of having the only ‘goon-free’ party, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Monday said that the BJP has “many notorious goons” and the list starts “from Gujarat”, reported The Indian Express.
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Ahead of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Shah spoke on Sunday at BJP’s rally in Jhansi, where he had reportedly said that the Samajwadi Party (SP) and BSP were full of “goondas”.
Speaking to the reporters at her residence on Monday, Mayawati attacked Shah saying: “BJP me toh itne naami giraami gunde hain, main inke naam ginane lag jaun, aur iski shuruaat Gujarat se hi hoti hai. Aur ye jo Amit Shah baat kar rahe hain, unka itihaas bhi aap log achchhe se janate hain (BJP has many notorious goons, and if I start counting their names then the list will start from Gujarat. You are all aware of the history of Amit Shah who has made this statement).”
According to the Express report, BJP has been attacking Naseemuddin Siddiqui, a BSP general secretary and the party’s Muslim face, ever since he led a dharna where alleged “obscene slogans” were raised against daughter and sister of former BJP leader Dayashankar Singh. Singh was earlier accused of making derogatory remarks about Mayawati.
Meanwhile, Mayawati also attacked Shah for his claim that if the illegal mining is stopped in Bundelkhand, every resident of the backward region will get enough money to buy a four-wheeler. She reportedly said the people of the region first need basic facilities like employment, water and electricity.
Countering Shah’s claim that the BSP rule in the state was devoid of any development, Mayawati said, “Our governments did not work for the development of capitalists and moneybags like the central government and the BJP-ruled states.” She said her government had started the Metro rail project in Noida and got built the Noida-Agra Expressway, besides laying the foundation work for metro rail in Lucknow, reported Express.
She also blamed SP for either stopping or renaming her government’s public welfare schemes. Mayawati reiterated her demand of division of the state in four parts, saying that the resolution for UP’s division sent by her government in 2011 is still pending before the central government.