Haryana will have a Dalit deputy chief minister if the BSP-INLD alliance comes to power after the October 5 polls, BSP supremo Mayawati said on Wednesday. The Bahujan Samaj Party president said that if the alliance wins, Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Singh Chautala will be the chief minister and he will have two deputies.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister made the remarks while addressing a public gathering in Uchana in Jind on the occasion of the 111th birth anniversary of former deputy prime minister late Devi Lal. She also raised the demand for a caste census.
"A deputy chief minister from the Dalit community will be from the BSP, while another will be from other backward classes or upper caste," she said. "Who will these Deputy CMs be, this decision will be taken after poll results."
She also said, "In the country's interest, I demand the Centre conduct a caste census, which was kept on hold by the Congress government earlier and now by the present BJP-led Centre."
Abhay Chautala, who too was at the dias, announced a slew of welfare measures, such as free cooking gas cylinders, a cash dole of Rs 1,100 to each household, free electricity, and implementation of the Old Pension Scheme, if the alliance comes to power.
He also promised an old age pension at the rate of Rs 7,500 per month, a government job each to one educated youth per family, and a Rs 21,000 unemployment allowance till they are not given job.
If anyone falls ill and has to go for treatment in other states, he will get free treatment, Chautala said. He also announced free plots of 100 square yards to the poor.
Mayawati said Congress and BJP must be removed if the reservation is to be protected.
The Dalit politician lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on the reservation he made in the US.
"When he is in India and there is an election in a state, he changes his colour like a chameleon. He then says that he is in favour of reservation.
"While abroad, he says they want to end reservation for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. In India, he says they are in favour of reservation. What do you make of this Congress policy? This is double-standard," she said.
Rahul during a recent interaction at Georgetown University in the US had told students that the Congress would think of scrapping reservations when "India is a fair place," which he said is not the case right now.
Mayawati said reservation is not a "gift" from Congress but a hard-won right to Dalits from BR Ambedkar.
Mayawati also called Chaudhary Devi Lal the messiah of farmers and labourers and paid her tributes to him.
Indian National Lok Dal president and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and BSP national coordinator Akash Anand were also present on the occasion.
In his address, Om Prakash Chautala said the country's economy is based on agriculture.
"If the farmer is prosperous, the country is prosperous and if the farmer is not prosperous, then the condition of the country is bad," he said.
Haryana goes to polls on October 5 while results will be declared on October 8.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister made the remarks while addressing a public gathering in Uchana in Jind on the occasion of the 111th birth anniversary of former deputy prime minister late Devi Lal. She also raised the demand for a caste census.
"A deputy chief minister from the Dalit community will be from the BSP, while another will be from other backward classes or upper caste," she said. "Who will these Deputy CMs be, this decision will be taken after poll results."
She also said, "In the country's interest, I demand the Centre conduct a caste census, which was kept on hold by the Congress government earlier and now by the present BJP-led Centre."
Abhay Chautala, who too was at the dias, announced a slew of welfare measures, such as free cooking gas cylinders, a cash dole of Rs 1,100 to each household, free electricity, and implementation of the Old Pension Scheme, if the alliance comes to power.
He also promised an old age pension at the rate of Rs 7,500 per month, a government job each to one educated youth per family, and a Rs 21,000 unemployment allowance till they are not given job.
If anyone falls ill and has to go for treatment in other states, he will get free treatment, Chautala said. He also announced free plots of 100 square yards to the poor.
Mayawati said Congress and BJP must be removed if the reservation is to be protected.
The Dalit politician lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on the reservation he made in the US.
"When he is in India and there is an election in a state, he changes his colour like a chameleon. He then says that he is in favour of reservation.
"While abroad, he says they want to end reservation for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. In India, he says they are in favour of reservation. What do you make of this Congress policy? This is double-standard," she said.
Rahul during a recent interaction at Georgetown University in the US had told students that the Congress would think of scrapping reservations when "India is a fair place," which he said is not the case right now.
Mayawati said reservation is not a "gift" from Congress but a hard-won right to Dalits from BR Ambedkar.
Mayawati also called Chaudhary Devi Lal the messiah of farmers and labourers and paid her tributes to him.
Indian National Lok Dal president and former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and BSP national coordinator Akash Anand were also present on the occasion.
In his address, Om Prakash Chautala said the country's economy is based on agriculture.
"If the farmer is prosperous, the country is prosperous and if the farmer is not prosperous, then the condition of the country is bad," he said.
Haryana goes to polls on October 5 while results will be declared on October 8.
