Zeenews Bureau
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Sunday hit out at Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi saying he was indulging in "theatrics" as Congressmen were getting nightmares of 'elephant', her party's poll symbol.
"Congress is afraid of increasing mass base of the BSP due to which its 'Yuvraj' has skipped Parliament session to visit UP to do theatrics. It seems BSP's symbol elephant is haunting and chasing Congressmen in their dreams due to which they are making baseless statements using its name," Mayawati said kickstarting her party's election campaign at a 'Dalit-OBC Bhaichara Sammelan' here.
Gandhi, while addressing a public meeting in Siddharthnagar on Friday, had made a veiled attack on the Mayawati government, saying that an 'elephant' in Lucknow was eating away all the money sent by the Centre for the poor in Uttar Pradesh.
Taking a dig at Gandhi’s promise of making UP "number one" state in five years, Mayawati said it was mere a "political gimmick". She asked, "How will he make UP number one in five years when his party failed to do so in 40 years of its rule?"
Dismissing allegations of discrepancies in implementation of MNREGA, Mayawati said Congress was raising the issue only for "cheap publicity and political gains" while claiming that strict action had been initiated against those indulging in irregularities.
Terming Gandhi's "beggar" remarks as an insult to the people of Uttar Pradesh, the BSP supremo said that they have migrated to other states in search of livelihood as successive Congress governments failed to ensure development of in the state.
Kickstarting Congress’s campaign for Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections in Phulpur, Rahul Gandhi had said, “People of Uttar Pradesh are appreciated for their hard work; wherever they go in search of job...How long will you beg in Maharashtra (for work)? How long will you work as labourer in Punjab?"
Mayawati claimed BSP's growing influence has resulted in all opposition parties losing their sleep over the forthcoming Assembly Elections.
She said that Dalits and other backward classes belong to the same family, adding that Congress has not taken care of them.
The Chief Minister said that BSP will come back to power in 2012 polls.
(With PTI inputs)
First Published: Sunday, November 27, 2011, 10:24