Budaun (UP): A party that has "deviated from the ideals of Babasaheb Ambedkar is fighting the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections with the sole purpose of stopping the SP from defeating the ruling BJP, Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday in a veiled attack on the BSP. Addressing a public meeting here, the Samajwadi Party chief said, all Samajwadis and Ambedkarites should join hands to bring about a change in Uttar Pradesh and protect the country's constitution.
"Samajwadi Party is working to defeat the BJP, but one party intends to stop the SP," Yadav said without naming the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) or any of its leaders. "The party has deviated from the ideals of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar and is contesting (polls) not to win, but to help the BJP retain power, he said. For protecting the Constitution, Samajwadis and Ambedkarites have to jointly bring a change in Uttar Pradesh because this election will decide the future of youth, he added. He also said many people of that party have joined the SP.
BSP chief Mayawati has on several occasions attacked the SP for allegedly working against the interests of Dalits, when they were in power from 2012 to 2017. She has cited the renaming of Sant Ravidas Nagar to Bhadohi by the previous SP government to justify her allegations. A majority of the 19 BSP MLAs, who had won in the 2017 UP Assembly elections, including its former legislative party leader Lalji Verma and senior party leader Ram Achal Rajbhar, have crossed over to the SP, ahead of the assembly elections. Sant Ravidas was a 16th century spiritual leader who is revered by Dalits.