By IANS,
New Delhi: The Congress Monday hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for attempting to hijack the central government’s agenda on quota for backward caste Muslims.
“Focused on erecting her own statues for most part of her tenure, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister has suddenly woken up to the concerns of the common man,” said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, adding that “no party other than the Congress has had an inclusive approach and created schemes for the welfare of minorities”.
He said she did not focus on development in the past four and half years and now she was trying to confuse the voters on caste and religious grounds.
The assembly elections in the state are scheduled to be held in 2012.
Addressing a rally of Muslim, Vaishya and Kshatriya communities in Lucknow Sunday, Mayawati had said the total reservation for OBCs should be increased proportionately and said the demand for inclusion of certain OBCs in Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes could be accepted by increasing the quota for SCs and Sts.
Mayawati said the BSP would support a constitutional amendment in this regard.
Singhvi said the BSP chief was resorting to tricks as she had seen the writing on the wall. He said Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party would be routed in the elections next year.
“The minorities will not be fooled by such rhetoric,” he said.