Raebareli, Feb 20 (ANI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi addresses a public meeting, at Shankarpur in Raebareli on Thursday. (ANI Photo)
| Photo Credit: ANI
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday- (February 20, 2025) said he wanted the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati to fight the 2024 parliamentary polls together, adding an alliance would have prevented the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from securing victory.
“We wanted Behenji to join us against the BJP but Mayawati ji did not fight for some reason or the other. If the three parties [the Samajwadi Party, Congress and the BSP] had united, the BJP would never have won the election,” said Mr. Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Rae Bareli.
The Congress leader wondered why the BSP is not contesting elections properly in the present period. “I must admit that Kanshi Ram ji laid the foundation and Behenji carried on the work. But I have a question, why is Behenji not fighting the elections properly these days,” asked Mr. Gandhi, addressing Dalit students at Mool Bharti hostel near Bargad Chauraha Civil Line in Rae Bareli.
The Congress leader accused the ruling BJP of creating an atmosphere of hatred in the society. “The BJP is deliberately building hatred in the country, aimed at dividing the society. They [BJP] talk about patriotism, but the real patriotism is towards uniting the nation,” said Mr. Gandhi, who praised Dalits for their role in shaping the country, while alleging that they continue to face systemic oppression.
“Had there not been Dalits in this country, there would not have been Constitution. It’s your ideology, it’s your Constitution but wherever you go now, you are crushed by the system,” he said. The Congress leader also addressed a party workers’ meeting and held interaction with women social workers. Later in the day he unveiled a statue and addressed a gathering at Rana Beni Madhav Singh Memorial Inter College. At the party workers’ meet, Mr. Gandhi attacked the BJP government for doing injustice to youth and underprivileged sections, alleging that the ruling dispensation was working for billionaires and rich people.
Mayawati hits back
Reacting sharply to Mr. Gandhi’s comments, Ms. Mayawati accused the Congress of adopting double standards. “In the States where the Congress is strong or where it has governments, there is animosity and casteist attitude towards the BSP and its followers, but in a State like Uttar Pradesh where the Congress is weak, there is deceptive talk of alliance with the BSP, and if this is not the double standards of that party then what is it. Whenever the BSP has contested elections in Uttar Pradesh and other States in alliance with the casteist parties like the Congress, our base vote has been transferred to them but those parties have not been able to transfer their base vote to the BSP. In such a situation, the BSP always had to face losses,” she wrote on X.
Published – February 20, 2025 11:14 pm IST