Bhubaneswar, March 23: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati today called for a power shift in Odisha to ensure that the Dalits and tribals of the state got their due and were not forced to change their faith for the sake of money.

“You do not need to change your religion, you just need to change power,” she exhorted a gathering of her supporters on the Exhibition Ground here at her first election meeting in the state.

Accusing the BJP and the RSS of exploiting the poverty of Odisha’s Dalits and tribals to convert them to Hinduism, she lamented there was no attempt by the state government to lift the people out of the current economic morass.

“This state has 50 per cent population of scheduled tribes and scheduled castes, but it is one of the country’s most economically backward states. The SCs and STs live in abysmal poverty and there is no attempt to change their situation,” said Mayawati.

The Dalit leader also played the special status card.

“If we come to power at the Centre, we will give Odisha the special category status,” said Mayawati adding that a change in the fate of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe members and religious minorities of the state was essential to ensure that they did not lean towards the Maoists.

“Since Independence, the Congress and other parties have ruled here. But none of the governments have taken any steps for the development of these downtrodden people or tried to address their issues,” said the BSP chief.

She said that during her reign in Uttar Pradesh, she had taken several steps to improve the economic condition of the downtrodden by providing them jobs and land to landless. Mayawati reached the meeting venue around 2pm when the sun was blazing.

A large number of people, who had turned up for the meeting, had left the ground by that time. Without taking the name of the BJD or Naveen Patnaik, she said neither the ruling party, nor the Opposition appeared to be in good health.

“If we get some seats here, it will help change the power equations,” she said.

While Mayawati underscored the need for recovery of black money to improve the situation of the poor, she alleged that her rivals were busy collecting money from industrial houses and framing laws to suit their ends.

“Our party is for the poor and the downtrodden. We do not take money from industrial houses but we are committed to the development of the poor,” she said urging the people to vote for her party by endorsing its elephant symbol.