While the Congress is desperately trying to divert attention from state Congress chief Rita Bahuguna’s tasteless remark against Mayawati and shift focus towards developmental issues.
While the Congress is desperately trying to divert attention from state Congress chief Rita Bahuguna’s tasteless remark against Mayawati and shift focus towards developmental issues, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati continues to fire salvos at Sonia Gandhi.
Friday saw a healthy dose of sound bytes from both sides. To spice up the drama, Mohammed Azharuddin, the Congress MP from Moradabad, courted arrest to protest vandalism at Bahuguna’s house on Wednesday night. He was released soon after.
Mayawati warned the Congress workers against taking to the streets or they will be dealt with “severely”. “The Congress should not think that BSP workers are jackals. I have restrained them. If they [BSP men] take to the streets, the Congress workers will run back into their holes like rats,” she said.
Taking a swipe at the Congress chief, Mayawati said: “Sonia Gandhi has issued a statement expressing sorrow over Rita’s remarks only under compulsion to shore up her party’s reputation among Dalits... She has not taken any action against Rita.”
For the Congress, Rahul led the charge by blaming the Mayawati government of wasting central funds for putting up her statues. “The Centre is sending funds for development projects like NREGA (National Rural Employee Guarantee Act) but the UP government is using it to put up statues. Mayawati should realise that apart from elephants and statues, people also need electricity,” Rahul said, referring to the recent protest against power cuts in his Amethi constituency where Congressmen were cane-charged by the police.
Rahul said that the only way for people to get rid of their power woes was to install a Congress government in Lucknow.
He did not refer to the Bahuguna episode. When reporters sought his reaction, he called Bahuguna’s remarks “unfortunate”, but added that anger against the government prompted it. “I can understand the anger one feels when dealing with a government like this... I support the sentiment but the choice of words was wrong,” he said.
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