Mayawati Praises Yogi Adityanath While Criticizing Akhilesh Yadav's "Double-Faced" Politics Over Dalit Memorials

Yogi Adityanath, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati expressed gratitude to the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath on Thursday, while simultaneously accusing the Samajwadi Party (SP) of exhibiting "double-faced" behavior regarding the maintenance of institutions and Dalit memorials constructed during her administration.

During a rally in Lucknow commemorating the 19th death anniversary of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, Mayawati commended Chief Minister Adityanath for honoring his commitment to maintain such parks and memorials. She claimed that the SP only remembers to perform such duties when they hold power.

"I sent a letter to the chief minister requesting that ticket revenue from visitors be allocated for maintenance. The BJP government assured us that these funds would not be diverted elsewhere but used exclusively for upkeep - and they fulfilled this promise. Our party extends gratitude to them for this," she stated, acknowledging Chief Minister Adityanath.

The former chief minister criticized the SP for allegedly allowing Dalit memorials and parks to deteriorate through neglect, saying: "They did not allocate a single rupee for maintenance. They even retained the revenue collected from tickets. However, now that they are out of power, they generate headlines by announcing seminars to honor Kanshi Ram ji."

She further remarked: "We established universities and institutions named after Kanshi Ram ji and other great leaders and initiated numerous welfare schemes, but the SP government terminated all of them. If this doesn't demonstrate a double character, what does?"

Mayawati also directed criticism at SP president Akhilesh Yadav, stating that if he truly respected the BSP founder, he would not have reverted the name of Kanshiram Nagar district in the Aligarh Division back to Kasganj.

The BSP chief accused the SP of appropriating Dalit icons in its "pursuit of power." "When in power, they neither acknowledge PDA, nor the saints, gurus, and distinguished personalities associated with it. But immediately upon losing power, they suddenly begin acknowledging our saints, gurus, and great individuals. People must be extremely cautious of such double-faced individuals," she warned.

PDA refers to "Pichde, Dalit, Alpsankhya," which translates to "Backward, Dalit and Minority."

Yadav responded to Mayawati and her party regarding their alleged "internal collusion" with the ruling party. "Because 'their' internal collusion continues, that is why they are grateful to their oppressors," he stated, without specifically naming anyone.