The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh will now remind the voters of the good governance of its governments and the integrity of its leaders to regain lost ground in the state.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, newly-appointed UP BJP president Surya Pratap Shahi said that the BJP alone could boast of having given governments that worked for the welfare of the people and its leaders were known for their honesty and integrity.
“The three chief ministers of BJP governments in UP, namely Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh, are still remembered for their honesty. The BJP governments were known for their su-shasan (good governance). In sharp contrast the leaders of the Samajwadi Party and the BSP are both facing cases of disproportionate assets. We will remind the people of the difference in these two parties and the BJP,” he said.
Mr Shahi admitted once again that the BJP had suffered reverses in UP mainly because of its support to three successive Mayawati governments in 1995, 1997 and 2002.
“We had to bear the cross of Mayawati’s misrule where she walked away with the credit. Had we not supported the BSP to form government, the BJP would have been better placed,” he explained.
Lashing out against the present BSP government, Mr Shahi said that though Ms Mayawati was a dalit and a woman, maximum atrocities had taken place in her regime on dalits and women.
He castigated the BSP’s much publicised drive against criminals.
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Party moves away from Varun words
Lucknow, May 20: The BJP on Thursday distanced itself from comments made by its leader Varun Gandhi in which he said statues of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati would be replaced with those of Lord Rama if the party came to power in the 2012 Assembly elections. “Those were his personal comments. The party will act within constitutional rights,” party’s state chief Surya Pratap Shahi told reporters here.
—IANS