Maya fumes over PMO’s public snub

The clarification itself was unusual. It seemed that the Government wanted to dispel the impression that it was conniving with Mayawati — on the issue of urging her party’s MLAs and MPs to contribute to the party coffers from the constituency development funds, caught on a tell-tale tape —though it was prepared to overlook her lapses because of political compulsions.

But the CM’s claim that Atal Behari Vajpayee had blessed her was seen to be damaging. Hence the statement that she had neither sought his blessings, nor had she been blessed.

But this was enough to put the mercurial Mayawati on the warpath. She said at the Press conference that she had called up the PM and told him that he sould have first checked up with her if she had indeed made the statement of he having blessed her.

‘‘Mujhe bahut bura laga,’’ (I felt very bad) she said. She said she cautioned Vajpayee to be ‘‘alert’’ as the Opposition was trying to create a rift between the BJP and the BSP in the state. She accused the media of distorting her statements.

‘‘Not all but some newspersons have been plotting against my government,’’ she said. The CM said Vajpayee had asked her to call a Press conference to clarify her position which she was doing now. Mayawati said what had happened was that she had met the PM and apprised him of the political developments in the state during the past couple of days.

The PM had then asked her to run the government efficiently and with all her strength (‘‘dat kar sarkar chalao, badhia sarkar chalao’’). She said Vajpayee told her he would find out how the news had been distorted.

The Vajpayee Govt seems to be keen to distance itself from the UP CM’s wrondoings and when she gave the impression that the Centre was with her on this — earlier Dy PM L K Advani had refused to table her letter to him on the issue in Parliament — it was quick to react.

It is to be seen what fallout this has on the BSP-BJP relations in the coming days since Mayawati has a mercurial temper.