Mayawati to Gen-Z: Don’t Let Congress and BJP Hijack Your Movement

Lucknow- Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national president and four-time former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati addressed the media in support of the country’s students, youth and Gen-Z, accusing both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress of hijacking student movements for political gain.

Mayawati said that for some time now, the BJP and Congress parties have been preventing Parliament from functioning under one pretext or another. This, she claimed, is either an internal understanding to divert public attention from the failures of their governments at the Centre and in the states, or a conspiracy to capture power. The people of the country can clearly see this game, she added.

She noted that students and young people across the country are deeply distressed and worried about their problems. The BSP, she said, has always stood with them and continues to do so, as the ongoing movements are linked to the serious issues facing the entire student and youth generation and their families. The party has been consistently fighting for solutions in its own way.

She further pointed out that as soon as the Delhi movement subsided, a similar student and youth agitation started in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. While the Congress and its supporting parties have remained largely silent on it, the BJP and its allies have come forward to raise their voice, giving the impression that they too have hijacked the movement.

“In both the Jantar Mantar movement in Delhi and the ongoing agitation in Ranchi, what we are seeing more is politics rather than any seriousness about solving the problems of students and youth. Electoral self-interest is dominating,” Mayawati said.

Addressing Gen-Z and students across the country, she appealed to them to stay completely away from the ongoing conspiracy of the ruling and opposition parties. “Use these parties carefully to resolve your problems, but do not allow them to take undue advantage of your issues for their narrow political interests,” she advised.

Highlighting BSP’s track record, Mayawati said that during the party’s four governments in Uttar Pradesh, students and youth were never left disappointed. Special attention was given to their livelihood and employment. New job opportunities were created in both government and private sectors. Long-standing bans on government recruitments imposed by previous governments were lifted, providing livelihood to lakhs of people. New posts were also created in the police and other departments.

She criticised the current policy of weakening the public sector and promoting the private sector across the country, saying it is making big capitalists stronger while pushing the poor and unemployed further behind. Reservation for Dalits, Adivasis and Other Backward Classes in government jobs has been reduced to almost nothing, and efforts are on to make it ineffective. While the BSP is not against the private sector, it believes that these communities should get reservation there as well, just as they do in government jobs. The BSP government had implemented reservation in industries set up with government support.

Mayawati alleged that an internal understanding between the ruling and opposition parties is once again trying to make these communities helpless and dependent. She urged Dalits, Adivasis and backward classes across the country, including Uttar Pradesh, to stay alert and join the BSP, the only Ambedkarite party that stands for their interests, and bring it to power.

She reminded that the BSP governments in Uttar Pradesh never practised discrimination or favouritism against any section of society. Governance was run on the principle of “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay” and not on the casteist, narrow or capitalist mindset of the BJP and Congress.

With assembly elections due soon in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, Mayawati appealed to all sections of society -students, youth, Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes, Muslims and other minorities, the poor, workers, unemployed, employees and traders - to strengthen the BSP. Only then, she said, can people from all communities lead a better life.