Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Wednesday said it was unfortunate that more than 81 crore of the 140 crore people of India were dependent on free foodgrains from the government and added that it was not the dream of the architects of the Constitution.

“It is pathetic that more than 81 crore poor people have been made to depend on the government’s food grains. This was not the idea of independence, which was planned by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, who had made the Constitution (of India),” Mayawati tweeted in Hindi on Wednesday after paying tribute to Ambedkar in Lucknow on his 67th death anniversary.

The Narendra Modi government distributes free foodgrains to 81.35 crore people across the country under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. The scheme is considered a game-changer in elections.

Careful since 2016 in criticising the Modi government, Mayawati appeared to be briefly returning to her original self and said: “The condition of the poor, labourers, small traders, farmers, middle class and other working class is deplorable. Their condition would have improved if the Constitution was followed,” she added.

Two days ago, Mayawati had said that the people of the country were shocked
and surprised by the results of the recently concluded Assembly elections and called it “weird”.

The ruling BJP won in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where the contests appeared neck-to-neck.

Many political parties have claimed that the results were manipulated through the EVMs and demanded that they be replaced with ballot papers.