Mayawati bares her prime ministerial ambitions

Agra, April 18 (IANS) A day after Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said he would stake claim for the prime minister’s post, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati Friday said if her supporters voted intelligently, a "Dalit ki beti" could well be at the helm of affairs of the central government.

Addressing a poll rally at the Kothi Meena Bazar ground here, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president said her party would play a crucial "balancing power role".

Attacking the ruling Samajwadi Party in the state, Mayawati said "there was no rule of law," as goons, mafiosi and the corrupt have taken over the levers of power and made life hell for the common man.

The BSP's candidates for the Lok Sabha elections from the region are Narayan Singh from Agra reserved seat, Seema Upadhyaya from Fatehpur Sikri general seat and Thakur Vishwadeep Singh from Firozabad.

Mayawati said the BSP was contesting all 80 Lok sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh without entering into alliance or seat adjustment with any party while giving fair representation to Muslims, Brahmins and backward castes in addition to Dalits.

She said she was hopeful of winning a major chunk of these seats to assert her role and fulfil a long-cherished dream of Dalit saints and social reformers who wanted to see a Dalit prime minister of India.

Blaming both the Congress-led UPA and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA for the sorry economic conditions in the country, she said price rise and corruption were major issues that affected not only middle classes but just about everyone.

"These parties came to power with support and financial help from big capitalists and industrial houses which then dictated their terms and influenced policy making. The BSP is entirely dependent on small donations from supporters and party workers, and therefore fiercely independent of pressures."

"If you want respite from problems, don't ever vote for these parties," she said.

The BSP supremo said Uttar Pradesh was in a mess with rising crimes against women, loot, arson, murders and communal strifes, as in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli. Even the apex court has held the Samajwadi Party responsible for the tension in western Uttar Pradesh. The alarming law and order situation has halted developmental activities in the state.

Mayawati said her party's resolution to split the huge state is still hanging fire with the central government not responding to the demand. Likewise, the question of a high court bench in western UP has been put in cold storage by the central government, which refused a special package for the state.

Targeting BJP leader Narendra Modi, she said: "He calls himself a backward but till date he has not told us which backward caste he comes from." She counselled Muslims to stop Modi's march as there were riots and mayhem under his rule in Gujarat. "f he gets elected, the country could once again be in a communal turmoil."

She called Rahul Gandhi "Shehenshah" whose policies were not clear.

Scoffing at Amar Singh's rally at Fatehpur Sikri, Mayawati said "these film stars who enter the electioneering campaigns only foul up the scene and create confusion on policy matters. This man Amar Singh is known to break up parties and wherever he goes, he finishes that party. Ajit Singh himself could lose the elction this time."