New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS): Hitting back at BSP supremo Mayawati, who had termed the Samajwadi Party and the Congress "anti-Dalit", SP MP from Rampur Mohibbullah Nadvi accused her of not supporting the secular forces in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

Nadvi noted that the Dalits, the Muslims, and the Backward Classes face the same set of issues. However, Mayawati did not speak out for either of these sections in the run-up to the elections or join hands with the secular opposition parties, thus leading to the position of all three parties getting weaker, the MP told IANS.

On the comments by the BSP chief on reservation, the SP leader said that reservation is provided by the Constitution. "In this situation, if the Constitution survives, then, reservation will also survive," he said, adding that she must understand that the "elections were fought to protect the Constitution and the biggest issue was of reservation only".

He said all must join hands to foil the way that the Dalits and minorities were being targeted. He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and SP President Akhilesh Yadav had been working for this in Uttar Pradesh, particularly his party chief who had coined the term PDA (pichde, Dalit, alpsankhyak, or backwards, Dalits, and minorities) to focus on their development.

"Mayawati should have backed this endeavour, if she supports the INDIA bloc, then, it will be easier to defend reservations for Dalits, Muslims, and Backward Classes," he said.

Nadvi also reacted to recent remarks by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on infiltrators, asking what he was doing to deal with the threat. "What is the Assam CM doing, it's his government in the state. He should prevent any infiltration attempts. Keeping the borders of the country secure is the biggest responsibility of the BJP government."

He noted that in some places, it was the Chinese who were transgressing, while, there were disturbances and incidents on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. The MP also claimed that relations with Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal were worsening, adding that "in light of all this, it is the responsibility of all of us to safeguard the borders".

"A thorn may prick the body at any place, but it is the heart that feels the pain. In our neighbouring country Bangladesh, the Hindus are being targeted and the government must take tough steps to deal with it. Are the Hindus not being protected there or is the government not being able to protect them? The Hindus of Bangladesh have the same rights that Muslims have in India," he further said, referring to reports of attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh during the recent unrest there.