Funds for Mayawati's birthday collected by senior officials: Samajwadi Party

Rejecting claims of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati that fund raising for her birthday has been put off, Samajwadi Party today alleged that money this time were collected through senior officials and demanded a CBI probe into it.
     
"The departmental heads and the district chiefs like the DMs and chief development officers were asked to cough up funds on the birthday and a CBI inquiry can bring the facts before the people", leader of opposition in the state assembly Shivpal Singh Yadav told news persons here.
     
"These funds are being deposited with the senior ministers Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Babu Singh Kushwaha," Yadav alleged.
     
On the schemes worth over Rs7,000 crores announced by the chief minister today, Yadav alleged that almost 50% of it would be siphoned off.
     
The Samajwadi Party leader said that his party would strongly raise the issue of misuse of public funds and scams in the coming Assembly session.
     
The party also submitted a memorandum to governor BL Joshi on "massive rigging" in the just-concluded Legislative Council elections, Yadav said adding the party would also hold anti-government protests on January 19 in which party president Mulayam Singh Yadav would also take part.