What has Mayawati done for Dalits, asks BJP

Accusing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati of not taking any steps for the betterment of Dalits, Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday sought to know details of the measures taken by her for the welfare of downtrodden communities in the state.

Asked to comment on Mayawati's recent demand for the inclusion of a Dalit member in the committee formed for the drafting of the Lokpal Bill, Prasad said, "Before raising such a demand, the UP chief minister needs to answer three very pertinent questions -- how many young Dalits have been granted employment in the state government during her four-year rule, what is the rate of malnutrition among Dalit mothers and what is the mortality rate of Dalit infants.''

He said, "Mayawati may proclaim herself as the champion of the cause of Dalits, but the fact remains that she has never taken any concrete steps for their upliftment."

"If she answers these three questions, the people of the state will get know the extent to which Dalits have been ignored by the Dalit chief minister of India's most populous state," he added.

The BJP spokesman also hit out at Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh for his curt remarks against retired Supreme Court judge and Karnataka Lok Ayukta Santosh Hegde, who was among the key members of the Jan Lokpal Bill draft committee.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh had recently raised doubts about Hegde's ability to curb rampant corruption in Karnataka.
"We want to know why Digvijay Singh never cared to make any comment on the scams perpetuated by his own party -- be it the 2G spectrum scam or CommonWealth Games scam. He also needs to reply to the charges being currently levelled against him, that he allowed the construction of a mall in Indore in flagrant violation of all building laws, while he was the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh,'' he said.

Interestingly, Prasad also inaugurated an exhibition on 'corruption in Mayawati government', where  'corrupt practices' under the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party regime were displayed through cartoons.