Sonia's Dalit love is just the drama, says BSP

LUCKNOW: Sonia Gandhi's visit to Dalit hamlets in her constituency during the three-day visit has raised the heckles of chief minister Mayawati. As the congress president continued to mingle with the segment during the second day of her Rae Bareli tour, BSP retaliated by issuing a four-page stinker slamming Sonia for duping Dalits with `a show of fake concern and sympathy'. Whatever she is doing in Rae Bareli amounts to nothing but vile cheating of these gullible masses, the release stated. It also ridiculed Sonia for emulating her son Rahul in this regard. So far this put on act was confined to her son alone, but now, it seems, his mother too has joined in the drama. The Gandhi/Nehru family comes down to their constituencies only for picnics and fun (sair sapata aur picnic), the release stated, terming their gestures `like dining with Dalits, sitting on a broken cot or taking in their lap Dalit children' a `rajnitik nautanki'. "If Gandhis were genuine, they could have launched projects, schemes and special packages to promote Dalit welfare. Sonia Gandhi, has been misleading people of Rae Bareli for years. Rae Bareli has always been represented by the Gandhi family and Congress party has governed the country for maximum number of years. However, if Rae Bareli remains backward the blame would entirely go to the same family" the release stated. "Sonia also needs to explain why all industrial units in the family constituency were closed since years and also what efforts she made to revive them. Why has the average income of the constituency not registered any increase and why its literacy level is below the national average? The Gandhi family benefited by rising to the prime ministerial chair all due to the support of Rae Bareli, but the masses remain just where they were ", the release went on to charge Gandhis with emotionally exploiting the scheduled caste and tribe for their own selfish end. "The Gandhis avowed concern for Dalit is nothing but a charade they don't want Dalits to live with self respect. And this is the reason why, when Mayawati sets up statues and parks to commemorate the memory of Dalit icons, the Gandhis deride it as a wasteful expenditure, the statement read. It then eulogised the CM for her sincerity in the direction. In contrast BSP supremo Mayawati has launched special schemes like Ambedkar Gram Vikas Yojana to empower Dalits. The villages short listed thus have all the essential amenities that would mark a drastic improvement in the standard of living of the class. Mayawati has also initiated reservation in the private sector including reservation up to Rs five lakh in private contracts, the release pointed out. The statement also criticised the Centre for being non-serious about the special package for Bundelkhand and Purvanchal which has a sizable Dalit population. If Sonia Gandhi is as great a Dalit sympathiser as she poses she must build pressure on the government to clear the project with immediate effect, stated the release.