There cannot be a bigger 'Kasab' than Amit Shah: Mayawati

Ambedkarnagar: Mayawati on Thursday hit back strongly for Amit Shah's 'KASAB' acronym for Congress, SP and BSP, describing the BJP chief as a "terrorist" and saying there "cannot be a bigger Kasab" than him.

"Aaj apney desh mein Amit Shah se bada yehan koi aur bhi Kasab nahin ho sakta hai, arthaat aatanki nahi ho sakta hai (There cannot be a bigger Kasab, meaning a terrorist, than Amit Shah in our country now)," she said.

Addressing an election meeting here, Mayawati said such talks reflected bad mindset of the BJP leader.

Shah had yesterday clubbed the BSP along with the Congress and the Samajwadi Party to come up with the acronym 'KASAB' to refer to the Pakistani terrorist who was arrested during the 26/11 Mumbai attack.

The BJP chief had said the name of the 26/11 terrorist, when deconstructed, meant Congress, Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party).

"Until Uttar Pradesh gets rid of KA-SA-B, there will be no development in the state. 'Ka' (in Hindi) is for Congress, 'Sa' for Samajwadi Party and 'Ba' for BSP," Shah had said in Chauri Chaura, a historic town in Uttar Pradesh.

Kasab, the only terrorist caught after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack by Pakistani attackers, was hanged in 2012.

"Until Kasab is laid to rest, development and prosperity will continue to elude UP," Shah had said.

Mayawati earlier took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he used another acronym to describe the three parties. "SCAM is Samajwadi, Congress, Akhilesh and Mayawati," he had said at his first rally in Uttar Pradesh.

This week, Modi had described the BSP as "Behenji Sampatti (property) Party".

In her riposte, Mayawati called the BJP "Bharatiya Jumla (rhetoric) Party" and used PM Modi's initials to call him "Mr Negative Dalit Man."

Mayawati appealed to voters to observe fast on the polling day and break the fast only after exercising their franchise. "Once the BSP forms the government, it will generate employment and streamline the recruitment process," she said.

She said the current quality of mid-day meal served in primary schools is quite bad and would be replaced with more nutritious items such as milk, biscuits, cakes and fruits. Besides, rule of law would be established, she said.

Addressing another election rally in Bahraich, the BSP supremo claimed that her election rally was much larger than that of PM Modi and exuded confidence that BSP is going to form the next government in the state. "Because of wrong policies of the BJP (at Centre) and SP (at state level), there is resentment among the people of the state," she said.

She alleged that SP changed the names of the schemes started by the BSP government.

The BSP chief also took a dig at SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying he "seems to have been affected by 'putra-moh' (blind love for son), and has even insulted brother Shivpal." Mayawati urged the Muslim voters to vote for the party, saying her party has given tickets to 99 candidates from the community.

"The RSS and BJP want to end the reservation system in the country. If the BJP forms the government in the state, it would either end the quota system or make it ineffective," the BSP chief said.

She also alleged that the BJP did not do anything when it was in power, and now it is indulging in politics of cremation ground and graveyard.