UP has become a 'crime state': Mayawati

Lucknow: BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday charged the Samajwadi Party government with reducing Uttar Pradesh into a "crime state" and termed Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav as "ghoshna mukhya mantri (announcement chief minister)". "Soon after the present government came to power I had expressed my apprehensions in this regard. Most of the goonda and mafia elements, who had been jailed during my government, are now out. Because of them, life of people, especially women, is not safe," she told BSP's maharally.

"Women fear to venture out and innocent people are being murdered...UP has been reduced to crime state," she said. "In the six months of SP government there have been over a dozen and half incidents of riots and communal tension," she said, adding that the state had remained peaceful and seen development during her regime.

Attacking the chief minister, she claimed that he has been making mere announcements ever since SP has come to power. "He has even surpassed his father in making announcements and has become mere "ghoshna mukhya mantri", Mayawati said and alleged most of the welfare schemes were running on paper.

She said schemes like unemployment allowance and kanya vidhayadhan yojna were benefiting only the family members of Samajwadi Party workers and supporters. She also said welfare schemes launched by her government have been discontinued.

Charging the present government with working with "political vendetta', Mayawati dared the SP government to come out with evidence against BSP workers against whom corruption cases have been slapped. She also claimed that only 20 per cent crime cases were being registered and Dalits were being discriminated against.

On the defeat of her party in the last assembly elections she said, "BJP and Congress had connived and transferred their votes to SP in order to keep BSP away." She accused the SP of not fulfilling its promise to give 18 per cent reservation to Muslims in education and jobs. Mayawati also slammed the state government for changing the names of districts, schemes and university named after Dalit icons by her government and rued that ever since SP has come to power, over a dozen 12 statues of Ambedkar and one of her own have been desecrated.