After being denied permission for his interactive session with the students of Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi called the Mayawati government “vindictive” and alleged that it treated Dalits as its votebank.

Addressing a party convention at Motijheel Ground, Rahul said: “Though the Bahujan Samaj Party government (BSP) is often referred to as a government of Dalits, what has it done to uplift their living standards?” He added that till date, no sincere effort has been made by the BSP to promote education among the Dalits. “Without education, the development of any section of the society is not possible,” he said.

According to the Amethi MP, during his visit to the schools of the state, he preferred meeting the backbenchers, “a majority of whom were Dalits”. In spite of the BSP being in power in Uttar Pradesh, the education for Dalit children has been completely ignored, he alleged.

Talking about his visit to the a Dalit home in the Ambedkar Nagar Maleen Basti at Jajmau earlier in the day, Rahul said: “His poor financial condition showed that BSP leaders are least bothered about the problems being faced by Dalits.”

According to Rahul, the biggest threat faced by the country was “votebank politics”. The recent incidents of violence in Mumbai, Patna and Andhra Pradesh were the result of such politics. “People from different sections of the society are being exploited as votebanks. If the trend continues, it will become a major challenge for the country,” he said. Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rahul accused the party of maintaining double standards.

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