India
Taking on the corruption issue and the health scam that has rocked the UP government, BJP attacked Mayawati's government for recurring scams.
Updated : Jul 20, 2011, 09:37 PM IST
With an eye on 2012 asssembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has started intensifying its attack on the Mayawati government.
Taking on the corruption issue and the health scam that has rocked the UP government, BJP attacked Mayawati's government for recurring scams.
It accused Mayawati of looting public money and using the National Rural Health Mission for her “Wealth Mission” even as the health care infrastructure in the state suffered. The BJP has demanded a CBI inquiry into the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam under the supervision of the high court.
Accusing ministers and bureaucrats close to Mayawati playing the role of middlemen, the BJP said NRHM funded tenders were being assigned to agencies and individuals without following set rules and procedures.
“It is an open loot of public money which has been allocated for providing healthcare facilities to expectant mothers and children up to five years of age. While on one hand the state government has denied basic amenities to such expectant mothers and newborns, on the other, the money allocated for the women and children belonging to the weaker and underprivileged sections of the society is being looted in a shameless and unscrupulous manner,” said BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
He added that this loot was part of the growing activities of the ‘Loot Gangs’ under Mayawati’s leadership, who were active in all departments and engaged in filling up the coffers of the UP chief minister.
The BJP has also accused central government for being hand-in-glove in the scams saying it has been allocating whopping amount of money to the state without seeking any report either on the utilisation of the funds or the implementation of the scheme. Naqvi quoted NRHM money released by the Centre as: Rs794 Crores in 2005-2006, Rs1,956 crore in 2009-10 and Rs1,747 crore in 2010-11.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi's statements against the UP chief minister, Naqvi said that even as Congress leaders make public statements against the Mayawati government, the central government has taken no action against her for either non-implementation or misuse and misappropriation of funds under NHRM. On the contrary, it keeps allocating more funds to the UP government.
The party which had been Mayawati's ally in the past, today says it won't even touch her with a barged pole now. BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi ruled any possibility of poll alliance with Mayawati in future saying that they have fallen apart long back.
“Thrice we have made this mistake of supporting Mayawati but we will not repeat that mistake anymore. It is now talaq, talaq, talaq with Mayawati. The relationship is over,” Naqvi said.
Taking on the advantage of the burning land acquisition issue in UP, the BJP is dangling the carrot to farmers that if back in power they would ensure that the faulty are made to pay heavily for cheating innocent farmers.