The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Mayawati calls for “UP pattern” of Dalit consolidation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 31, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Mayawati calls for “UP pattern” of Dalit consolidation

Special Correspondent

Cadres urged to work for BSP regime in State and at Centre

— Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

On a mission: Bahujan Samaj Party president and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in Chennai on Sunday.

CHENNAI: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Sunday called for a “UP pattern” of consolidation of Dalits in Tamil Nadu, which will help the Bahujan Samaj Party come to power both in the State and at the Centre.

Addressing a State-level ‘Brotherhood Conference’ of the BSP, Ms. Mayawati urged cadres to win over the weaker sections among the upper castes to forge an inclusive platform for social reforms.

“Contrary to misconceptions, the BSP is not against the upper castes,” Ms. Mayawati said.

Welfare measures

She pointed to the welfare measures undertaken by the BSP after attaining power for the fourth term in Uttar Pradesh.

They addressed the concerns of weaker sections of society, irrespective of whether they hailed from communities of scheduled caste, Muslims, Dalit Christians or the upper caste.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said some of the pro-poor measures of her Government were hiking scholarships for the education of underprivileged children and reservation for weaker sections in private sector jobs. She accused the Centre of being insensitive to her repeated demand to legislate job quota for the underprivileged sections in upper castes.

Ms. Mayawati said only a BSP-led Government at the Centre would have the commitment to address the problems of the poor and the marginalised sections of society as the successive Governments headed by the Congress and the BJP had failed to improve the lot of the poor even six decades after Independence.

“Pro-rich measures”

Ms. Mayawati alleged that the Congress, the BJP and the regional parties were funded by business barons during election time. Therefore, it was only expected that whichever of these parties came to power would return the compliment with “pro-rich” measures. This situation had to change and “we must use political power to solve the problems of the underprivileged,” she said.

She urged cadres in Tamil Nadu to replicate the “UP” pattern of inclusive development and work towards establishing a BSP regime in the State and at the Centre.

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