'When the BSP supremo is offered such a garland, a lot of hue and cry is raised but when Congress president wears it no one raises a question,' said senior party leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui.
The ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh (UP) seemed to have put aside all administrative works on Thursday. For, BSP workers were busy distributing Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s photographs showing her wearing a garland of currency notes at a public function.
Brazenly carrying forward its counter-attack after a controversy erupted over UP chief minister Mayawati’s money garlands, an unapologetic BSP also distributed photographs of senior BJP leader LK Advani wearing crowns at various party rallies.
This was part of a purdah-faash (expose) campaign to counter BJP and Congress, who were critical of the pomp and show at the BSP rally on March 15.
The Congress was quick to claim that the photo showing Sonia with money garland was fake.
UP PWD minister and BSP general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui distributed Sonia’s photographs showing her wearing a garland of thousand-rupee notes at her Delhi residence. He said the garland was presented to her by Balmiki Dalits. “When leaders of other parties wear crowns and garlands of bank notes, no one raises a finger, but when a Dalit’s daughter does it, everyone has a problem,” he remarked.
Congress termed the BSP offensive “shameful”. UP Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi told reporters that the BSP was resorting to “disgraceful tactics” to score political points. .
UP BJP president Ramapati Ram Tripathi lashed out at the BSP for distributing photographs of LK Advani wearing a crown. “Party workers honour Advaniji on various occasions, but our leaders don’t announce shamelessly that they will wear garlands only made of currency notes, like Mayawati did,” he said angrily.
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