Fair polls impossible with Yogi’s actions: Mayawati

Lucknow: BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday said it was impossible to hold free and fair Lok Sabha elections if Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath kept visiting temples and houses of Dalits despite curbs on him by the Election Commission.

“Yogi is openly flaunting the ban on him by the Election Commission by visiting temples in different cities and having food in the homes of the Dalits by getting media coverage and publicity. But the Election Commission is kind to him. Why?” she tweeted in Hindi.

अगर ऐसा ही भेदभाव व बीजेपी नेताओं के प्रति चुनाव आयोग की अनदेखी व गलत मेहरबानी जारी रहेगी तो फिर इस चुनाव का स्वतंत्र व निष्पक्ष होना असंभव है। इन मामलों मे जनता की बेचैनी का समाधान कैसे होगा? बीजेपी नेतृत्व आज भी वैसी ही मनमानी करने पर तुला है जैसा वह अबतक करता आया है, क्यों?

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) April 18, 2019

“If this kind of bias will continue towards the BJP leaders by the Election Commission, then it is impossible that the elections will be free and fair,” she added.

The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s remarks came a day after Adityanath visited the Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya and a Hanuman temple in Lucknow on Tuesday.

He is scheduled to visit a temple later in the day in Varanasi.

The Election Commission has curbed Adityanath from campaigning for 72 hours for making communal remarks at an election rally in Meerut. The ban came into force from Tuesday morning.

The poll panel also barred Mayawati from campaigning for 48 hours for giving a speech urging Muslim voters to not split their votes.

The poll panel has also put curbs BJP leader Maneka Gandhi and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan from campaigning for violating the model code of conduct.

IANS