'Exchequer money keeps them warm': Mayawati at Amit Shah's 'come out of cold' remark

Mayawati was responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who said 'Bahanji', apparently referring to Mayawati, was yet to come out of the cold.

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday took a veiled jibe at the BJP leaders saying the money in the exchequer was keeping them warm even in the cold weather.

She also said the BSP has its own style of functioning and it does not want to "copy" other parties.

The leader was responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who said 'Bahanji', apparently referring to Mayawati, was yet to come out of the cold.

"Elections are around the corner and she has not come out for campaigning. It seems that she is already afraid," Shah had said during the Jan Vishwas Yatra in Moradabad, Aligarh and Unnao.

In her rebuttal, Mayawati told reporters, "When the Congress and BJP are in power, be it at the Centre or in states, they hold public meetings one after the other just a couple of months before the elections.

"The money in the government exchequer, meant for the poor, is keeping them warm. But, when these parties are not in power, they are just like us. They do not hold public meetings, attend inaugural ceremonies or lay foundation stones before the elections."

Regarding the crowd at rallies being organised by the rival parties, Mayawati said, "Half of them are government employees and the others are ticket seekers. We are seeing this in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab."

The BSP chief said her party was of the poor and the oppressed, and not of the capitalists.

"I am aware of the fact that if I copy other parties and hold public meetings one after the other, my people will not be able to bear the cost," Mayawati said.

"If we copy them (rival parties), there could be losses due to paucity of funds during the elections. Our party has a different style of working as far as elections are concerned. We do not want to change this even if the rival parties ridicule us or the press writes about it. Other parties should not worry about us," she said.