Lucknow: Sharpening his tirade against Mayawati, BJP leader Swami Prasad Maurya today alleged that the BSP supremo was “goddess of corruption” who auctioned tickets for elections and not the goddess of Dalits.

“The huge crowd which has assembled here is an indicator that BSP and its supremo are wallowing in the filth of political corruption,” the former BSP leader said.

Maurya was addressing BJP workers at the party office here, his first such interaction after he joined the saffron party in Delhi on Monday in the presence of BJP chief Amit Shah.

A number of BSP leaders, including sitting and former MLAs, ex-MLCs and others joined BJP in the presence of Swami, state BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya, general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak and MLA Gopalji Tandon.

“I gave 20 years to BSP but saw that Mayawati only tutored lessons of corruption. She calls herself ‘devi’ of Dalits but in reality she is goddess of corruption,” Maurya said.

He accused Mayawati of accepting donations in lakhs and crores of rupees by terming herself a goddess.

“I tried to make her understand, but she became blind in her lust for money. She auctioned tickets right from the bottom to top,” he said.

He alleged that BSP workers, who served the organisation without any ambition, felt insulted and were forced to work as bonded labourers.

Maurya also lashed out at the state’s Samajwadi Party government, saying ‘goondaraj’ prevailed in Uttar Pradeshand criminals were calling the shots.

“There has been a rise in incidents of rape, murder, loot, dacoity and other crimes. If (Ram Manohar) Lohia were alive, he would either dismiss the government or commit suicide,” he said.

Maurya said despite claiming herself the goddess of Dalits, Mayawati overlooked atrocities committed against them.

“She neither expressed sympathy after any incident nor visited the spot. She even prevented me and even Naseemuddin Siddiqui from visiting such spots. She used to say that the more they are harassed, the more her votes will solidify. She has become a ‘saudagar’ of votes,” he said.

Swami said the “huge turnout” at BJP headquarters here was an indicator of BSP workers’ anguish against “Mayawati’s corruption”.

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and Amit Shah’s organisational skills, Maurya, who was the leader of opposition before quitting BSP, said it was due to these two factors that he joined the party.

Maurya said he will hold a rally on September 22 at Ramabai Ambedkar Sthal here under the aegis of his newly formed Loktantrik Bahujan Manch (LBM).

“LBM will fully merge with BJP that day,” he said.

He said his long political career was without a blemish.

Keshav Prasad Maurya said during the 2012 state Assembly polls, SP had promised to put the corrupt behind the bars and replace parks with hospitals.

“I want to ask Netaji (SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav) whether he had handed over the entire state to a person, who cannot handle even a single district,” he said, apparently referring to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

He said BJP has set a goal of 265 plus seats in the 403- member Assembly, but it would be no surprise if it crossed the 400 mark after Maurya’s entry.

“SP and BSP have destroyed the state like (destructive planets) Rahu and Ketu,” he said.

PTI