BJP President J P Nadda said here on Thursday that political leaders involved in corruption are today either in jail or on bail.

Addressing a Dalit Maha Sammelan at Kothi Meena Bazar ground in the Taj City, Nadda said that the Samajwadi Party and the Congress have nothing to do with Dalits and the deprived. They are only concerned about the welfare of their family.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was also present in the conference along with other Dalit leaders of the party.

Nadda said that the opposition parties view Dalits, deprived and exploited people merely as vote bank.

The BJP president said that the Congress and the SP have no genuine interest in the welfare of Dalits, the underprivileged and the exploited. “Their only concern is to give priority to their family. A party run by Akhilesh, Dimple and Shivpal in Uttar Pradesh is a case in point. Is Lalu’s party a family-run enterprise in Bihar or not?” he wondered.

Nadda emphasised the BJP’s commitment to uplift the deprived through initiatives like Antyodaya. “There was a time when the Congress used to question the significance of Antyodaya scheme and we used to remind them that progress cannot be achieved until those at the bottom of society are brought to the forefront,” he said.

The BJP president accused the Congress of not giving due honour to Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. He recalled an instance when the Congress fielded a candidate against the architect of the Constitution and Bharat Ratna recipient in an election. This move compelled Ambedkar to contest from Bengal instead, he added.

He further said that during its rule, the Congress could not even find a suitable place in the Parliament to hang Baba Saheb’s portrait. When the BJP government came to power, it put up his picture in a prominent manner. The Congress did not even confer Bharat Ratna on Baba Saheb. It was our coalition government that honoured him posthumously with the Bharat Ratna,” he said.

Claiming that PM Modi took steps to change the image of Dalits and backward people, Nadda said that the PM introduced the concept of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”. He also praised Modi’s efforts to empower Dalits and said that it was the BJP government, which, for the first time, elevated Ramnath Kovind and Droupadi Murmu to the post of President.

Nadda said that the Modi government increased the budget of all the ongoing schemes aimed at the welfare of Scheduled Castes by 90 per cent, with special focus on ensuring that girl students receive the benefits. Additionally, the scholarship amounts under such schemes were also increased. He claimed that 18 per cent of the people taking benefit of Mudra Yojana belong to the Scheduled Castes and over 1.5 crore Scheduled Caste farmers were linked to the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

Nadda said that most of the Scheduled Caste women benefited from the Ujjwala scheme. He further stated that the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir will pave the way for the people to get the benefits of reservation.

He said upon arrival in Ayodhya today, we first land at Maharishi Valmiki International Airport. First we see Maharishi Valmiki, later other things.

Commending the efforts of the UP government, the BJP president lauded Yogi Adityanath for implementing good schemes in the state.

Under the leadership of PM Modi, India has become the fifth largest economy in the world, he said and expressed confidence that India will soon become the third largest economy in the world.