Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Political parties across the spectrum have strongly condemned BSP chief and UP Chief Minister Mayawati for accepting garlands made of currency notes worth crores of rupees and are demanding that action be taken against her.
Attacking Mayawati, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh said that she is no more a “Dalit ki beti but is daulat ki beti” and alleged that BSP is extracting money through illegal means in the name of party fund.
Mayawati was today felicitated with a garland said to be worth Rs 18 lakh at a meeting of party leaders in Lucknow, despite an opposition outcry over her being presented a similar garland of value estimated between Rs 21 lakh and Rs 15 crore at a massive rally on Monday.
Digvijay said, “It is brazen show of wealth, a brazen show of corruption. A brazen show of how money is being collected through an organized network of criminals centralized at the Chief Minister’s residence.”
“BSP is extracting money from miners, public works department (PWD), Noida and the public distribution system (PDS) in the name of party fund,” he added.
Questioning the source of such huge sums of money, Singh said that a thorough probe is required into all the aspect of the matter.
He also suggested that initial investigation into the matter suggest the first garland used for felicitating Mayawati was worth Rs 22.50 crores.”
Reacting to the latest garland controversy, Congress party spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said, “Repeated felicitation of Mayawati with currency notes is an unrepentant act and can not be justified. The entire show ‘violates the basic tenants of democracy’.
Samajwadi chief Mulayam Sigh Yadav also expressed his strong displeasure to Mayawati’s felicitation with currency notes and demanded stringent action against the defiant Chief Minister of the state.
“It appears that Centre is shielding BSP chief. An independent probe must be initiated to probe the source of cash obtained for making garlands worth crores of rupees.”
Similarly, the BJP leadership also took strong exception to the BSP’s unusual felicitation of Mayawati and accused the UPA government for dilly dallying over the issue.
“A few days back when several people died in a stampede in Pratapgarh, the UP government then said that it had no money to compensate the kin of those who have either lost their lives or seriously wounded in the incident. My question is why Congress is being hypocritical. Why are they seeking BSP’s support to sustain their government at the Centre,’ BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a press conference.
However, the fact remains that the Bahujan Samaj Party is unperturbed by the all-round condemnation. Senior party leader and state PWD minister Nasiruddin Siddique even announced, “Wherever she goes, she will henceforth be greeted with garland of notes and not with garland of flowers.”
The party has also decided to hold protests against the policies of the Congress-led central government all across the country.
