Mayawati sounds poll bugle at Noida park inauguration

Taking on Congress as an anti-Dalit political unit, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today blamed the Centre for failing to introduce quotas for Muslims and the poor from upper caste.

Speaking at the inauguration of the massive Rs 685 crore and 33.3 acre Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal and the Green Garden at Noida in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Budh Nagar district, Mayawati said, “Congress ruled Uttar Pradesh for 38 years continuously. But neither the Congress nor other political parties that were in power took steps to tackle poverty and unemployment.”

She targeted Congress president Sonia Gandhi for not keeping her promise in the asset case.

“When the BJP government at the Centre ordered a CBI raid in 2003 at my residence, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had personally called me  to assure me that when Congress returns to power I would not be rescued from this harassment. But from 2004 till date nothing of that sort happened,” Mayawati said.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also attacked the Congress for adopting a step-motherly attitude to the state and allegedly for not releasing Central funds on time for the state’s development.

With an eye on the state elections in mid-2012 and to keep her Dalit vote bank in-tact, Mayawati said, “The opposition parties are trying to woo Dalit votes by putting up photos of Dalit leaders on stage.”

The Chief Minister also bludgeoned the Central government for not taking any decision on Poorvanchal, Harit Pradesh and Bundelkhand.

“The BSP has supported the demand of creating these three states out of Uttar Pradesh. But the Central government is dilly-dallying with the issue,” she said.

The park houses huge sculptures of 24-pink elephants and larger-than-life statues of B R Ambedkar, Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram and Mayawati and often came under scathing criticism of the opposition as a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Rejecting the criticism, the Chief Minister said, “All along the western banks of river Yamuna in Delhi, we have statues of Nehru and Gandhi families. The park I inaugurated today is the only place where proper respect for B R Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram is shown.”

Mayawati tore into the opposition saying that they delayed the inauguration by a year by using the Supreme Court.

“I am thankful to the honourable Supreme Court for giving us justice,” she said. “Only one percent of the allocated budget has been used for the park. Money spent on the park would soon return to the exchequer after ticket sale,” Mayawati said, in an attempt to fight off the accusation that she was squandering state money.