Mayawati requests UP govt to shift BSP office to safe place, asks state to deal strictly with 'anti-Dalit' elements

The BSP chief said that this would also help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government deal strictly with the anti-Dalit elements.

Lucknow: BSP chief Mayawati on Monday requested Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government to shift her party's state office to a "safe" place to prevent occurrence of any untoward incident that "can happen there at any time".

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief said that this would also help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government deal strictly with the anti-Dalit elements.

"The BSP makes a special request to the UP government to make arrangements at a safe place somewhere else instead of the current party state office otherwise any untoward incident can happen here at any time. Besides, the party also demands that the government should deal strictly with anti-Dalit elements," she said in a series of tweets.

While requesting for her party office to be shifted, Mayawati recalled the unpleasant incident of 1995.

The guest house incident took place on June 2, 1995, when Mayawati had withdrawn support from the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led government.

The agitated Samajwadi Party workers had post this attacked Mayawati at the guest house in Lucknow and besides hurling abuses at her allegedly cut off the electricity and water supply of the premises.

BJP lawmaker Brahm Dutt Dwivedi had rescued her then.

Meanwhile, Mayawati launched a vitriolic attack on the Samajwadi Party and accused it of not only being anti-most backward classes but also an "anti-Dalit party".

The BSP chief said that her party tried to change the Samajwadi Party's anti-Dalit "chal, charita and chehra" after an alliance with it in the last general elections, but Akhilesh Yadav-led party returned to its anti-Dalit and casteist agenda after the polls.

Mayawati said whenever the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief talks about an alliance, his first condition is maintaining distance with the BSP.

She also accused the former SP government of taking a number of anti-Dalit decisions, which included constructing an over bridge in front of the BSP office in Lucknow from where "conspiratorial anarchist elements" could do harm to the party office, staff and the national president.

During the previous SP rule in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav had dedicated the over bridge for the public in 2014.

The SP was in power in the state from 2012-17 under the chief ministership of Akhilesh Yadav.

The decision had generated much heat as the BSP leaders had vehemently protested against its construction, alleging that it was a security threat to Mayawati.

The party had alleged that the over bridge posed a threat by exposing Mayawati's bungalow at the Mall Avenue as well as the BSP office in Lucknow.

Mayawati said that the BSP had to shift the statues of many personalities to her residence due to security problems, adding in view of the insecurity, the party had to shift important meetings from the party office to her house.