Opposition beset with anti-Dalit mentality: Mayawati

LUCKNOW: Faced with a detoriating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati addressing a party cadre meeting in Mumbai defended her governments track record in controlling crime and said that opposition parties criticising her on the issue are beset with anti Dalit mentality.

She said that the crime rate in Congress and BJP ruled states was much higher than in UP yet the central government and opposition parties cried hoarse when incidents get highlighted in UP.

She says that it was obvious that the opposition parties had an anti Dalit mentality and they were deliberately criticizing her.

She said that her party would start a nationwide agitation on this and the fuel price rise issues. She was addressing a two-day party convention of Maharashtra and Gujarat on Sunday. Mayawati said that the central government should reduce the prices of diesel, LPG and kerosene in view of the fall in international crude prices. She said that the central government was playing a dual game of increasing prices on one hand and asking state governments to reduce taxes on fuel.

She said that the poor and middle classes were already facing the brunt of inflation and the latest increase in prices would brake their back.

She said that the central government was not reducing the import duty and cess on fuel but had asked the state governments to cut their taxes, which showed it biased attitude.

She said that some state governments allied with the Congress had either announced a cut in their local taxes on fuel or were to do so soon and the central government as part of the deal would compensate them with extra devolution of funds.