I-Day celebrations would've been better if people could tide over inflation, poverty: Mayawati

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Monday said Independence Day is a matter of immense happiness, but the celebrations would have been brighter had the citizens not been bogged by inflation and ''fatal'' poverty.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also said occasions such as Independence Day are times to take a pledge to wash away the ills of casteism, communalism, hateful politics, and corruption, and also to refrain from indulging in expensive publicity.

In a statement, Mayawati said, ''The Independence Day is an occasion of immense happiness, but the celebration would have been much better if the country's 125 crore people were free from the burden of inflation, fatal poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and health problems.'' Quoting B R Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution, Mayawati called upon the people to be ''an Indian first and an Indian last''.

She said as the world's largest democracy, India has a huge constitutional responsibility toward the welfare of its people and the maintenance of peace and prosperity.

''It is the duty of the government to come true on these aspects,'' she said.