After UPA 3 pitch, Maya snubs Cong

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 14

A day after the opposition’s UPA-3 pitch, BSP chief Mayawati dealt her first blow to grand alliance teams by taking of the Congress and the BJP in the same vein and making it clear that her fight is against both.

Mayawati cited the recent slapping of NSA on Muslims by the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and the charges of sedition against 14 Aligarh Muslim University students by the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh to say “both governments are terrorising Muslims. Let the people decide who is what.”

Mayawati’s comments came a day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi announced plans of the opposition to stitch together a common minimum programme, which means there will be a pre-poll alliance for 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee also said a pre-poll alliance will be formed.

Right after that Gandhi ruled our immediate alliances in Bengal and Delhi triggering AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal to admonish the Congress to “think about the nation or else the nation will teach the Congress a lesson.”

The opposition meeting on Wednesday was attended by NCP chief Sharad Pawar who, NC chief Farooq Abdullah, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu among others.

Leaders had said they will speak to BSP and SP also, but Mayawati’s snub will make the opposition’s unity run hard.

Mayawati’s tweet was indicative of her plans to go alone on Thursday as she wrote “Congress govt in MP like BJP slapped atrocious NSA against Muslims for cow slaughter.

Now the UP BJP govt booked 14 AMU students under notorious sedition charges. Both are example of state terror & condemnable. People should decide what is difference between the cong & BJP govt?”

This is also Mayawati’s first reaction after AICC General secretaries UP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia took charge of their roles.