Maya Amethi ploy backfires

Chief Minister Mayawati seems to have bitten off more than she can chew in her fight to win over Dalits from Priyanka Gandhi8217;s side in ...

Chief Minister Mayawati seems to have bitten off more than she can chew in her fight to win over Dalits from Priyanka Gandhi8217;s side in Amethi. Her announcement to create a new district, as a sop to residents of Amethi, has not only invited the wrath of Congressmen but also of BJP leaders.

8216;8216;The BJP leaders should have been taken into confidence before such a major announcement. The issue was not even taken up in the Cabinet meeting and she announced the creation of a new district all of a sudden,8217;8217; said the BJP8217;s UP in-charge, Kalraj Mishra.

Also, former BJP working committee member, Sanjay Singh, has raised objections over naming the district after Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj. In a letter to state party chief Vinay Katiyar, Singh writes: 8216;8216;What locus standi does Sahuji have in Uttar Pradesh. He was a leader in Maharashtra while a district is being named after him in our state.8217;8217;

According to sources, Singh8217;s displeasure has certain immediate causes. Mayawati had not bothered to invite his wife Amita, also the BJP MLA from Amethi, to her meeting.

The Chief Minister also left out Amita8217;s name in a foundation stone laid in the area. 8216;8216; Non-inclusion of the local MLA8217;s name in the foundation stone is against the existing norms which clearly state that the local MLA should be named in any project started by the CM anywhere,8217;8217; said the BJP8217;s state vice-president Hriday Narain Dixit.

Even the BJP state chief did not spare Mayawati on the issue. 8216;8216;At least, the BJP ministers should have been informed before such a decision. There are also reports that BJP workers in different districts are being ignored by the officials in their respective region. She is heading a coalition government and must realise that in such an arrangement all partners should be taken care of,8217;8217; Katiyar said.

With the BJP leaders angry over the issue, the Congress has got a case against the CM on a platter.

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8216;8216;The new district should be named after Rajiv Gandhi because his family had looked after the constituency for decades. The crowd at Amethi had clearly given her Mayawati a signal of what they want. The moment she attacked Priyanka and Sonia, people began to retreat from her public meetings,8217;8217; said Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari.

The CM is also under fire over the police attack on sugarcane farmers in Basti. A Congress delegation today met Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri, demanding his intervention, as the Mayawati government has failed to tackle the crisis.

8216;8216;There is going to be a massive law and order problem in the state on the issue if immediate steps were not taken,8217;8217; Tiwari told the Governor while submitting a memorandum on the issue.