Congress cosying up to Mayawati after cut motion support

The Congress’s terms of reference vis-a-vis Mayawati seem to have changed overnight following her party’s support to the UPA regime on the cut motion in parliament.

On Thursday, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh was courtesy personified as he thanked Mayawati for her support.

Digvijay is in charge of the party’s affairs in Uttar Pradesh.
“By supporting the UPA government, she has taken an important step towards strengthening secular forces in the country,” Digvijay told reporters at the state Congress headquarters here.

The Congress leader denied that Mayawati had fallen in line because of a disproportionate assets case against her which is being investigated by the income tax department and the CBI. “The BSP had supported the UPA government from Day 1… that support continues. So, where’s the confusion?” he asked.

Interestingly, this is precisely the explanation Mayawati herself gave out while announcing her decision to support the UPA regime on the BJP-sponsored cut motion in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Digvijay did not stop at that. He even went ahead and welcomed Mayawati’s drive against criminals in her party. However, he also raised questions about how they had managed to enter the BSP.

Despite the rather mild criticism, Singh’s statements clearly indicate a change of tactics on the Congress’s part towards the BSP. The shift could change political equations in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh assembly election in 2012.