New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS): Jaiveer Singh, Minister of Tourism and Culture in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday remarked that both Mayawati and Rahul Gandhi merely seek to attract Dalit votes without real efforts for their uplift.

The BJP leader responded to former Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Mayawati's comment on Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi that he only speaks about Dalits during elections and criticises reservation policies abroad.

“If anyone is working for the betterment of Dalits, it's the BJP,” he stated, pointing to initiatives by the party that have improved housing, access to clean drinking water, health care, and other facilities for marginalised communities.

He affirmed, “The BJP is the only party genuinely working to empower and develop Dalits.”

Mayawati on Monday while criticising the Congress leader stated, "The SC/ST/OBC reservation policy of the Congress and Rahul Gandhi is not clear, but has double standards and is deceitful."

"In their own country, for votes, they support reservation and advocate increasing it above 50 per cent and when they go abroad, they talk about ending reservation. People should be cautious of their double standards," she posted on social media platform X.

Further addressing the fake currency scam in UP's Kushinagar the BJP leader criticised the Samajwadi Party (SP) after the party's Secretary Rafi Khan (Babloo)'s name surfaced in the scam.

He remarked that people already associate the SP with criminal activities, saying, “Whenever there is a criminal, they are either from the Samajwadi Party or their associates.”

He highlighted a popular public slogan, "The bigger the criminal, the bigger the Samajwadi," which continues to be used about the party.

The Kushinagar police on Monday arrested ten members of a gang involved in the production and distribution of counterfeit currency.

According to the information, Rafi Khan, National Secretary of Samajwadi Lohia Vahini, is the mastermind of this gang.

In response to former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s claims after the Sultanpur shooting that police encounters are conducted based on caste, the BJP leader dismissed these accusations as baseless.

He pointed to the SP chief's frequent remarks about caste and religion, stating, “Akhilesh Yadav talks about caste and religion all day long, but never about progress or taking the state forward.”

Singh emphasised that the only caste criminals belong to is crime, noting that the government is treating criminals as they deserve under its 'zero-tolerance' policy. He assured that the UP government will continue its firm stance against criminal elements.