Maya tapes spark a new battle in UP

‘‘The video cassette presented by the SP to the Governor was doctored and the party screened only portions which suited it. The context in which I made these comments was not shown. The SP will pay dearly for levelling this charge of corruption’’ Mayawati told reporters.

She will have to ward off the immediate Opposition threat. Late tonight, the combined Opposition of SP, Congress, Kalyan Singh’s Rashtriya Kranti Party decided to move a notice tomorrow to bring down her government.

UP BJP leader and urban development minister Lalji Tandon said Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri would get an inquiry conducted into the authenticity of the videotape. Once its authenticity was established, the Governor would think of the future course of action, he said.

In New Delhi, the controversy rocked Parliament with Opposition demanding Mayawati’s dismissal. As soon as zero hour began in Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Dy PM L K Advani would make a statement tomorrow. The issue was raised by SP member Akhilesh Singh in Lok Sabha who tabled an adjournment motion and demanded suspension of question hour for a discussion.

‘‘She has insulted all MPs by saying all dips into the MPLADS funds,’’ Singh later said, ‘‘and this includes the PM because he is an MP from her state.

‘‘And if there could be a judicial inquiry into Tehelka, in which George Fernandes was asked to quit despite no direct link to the case, our tape is far more serious, as it shows Mayawati clearly asking for a cut from Government funds.’’

Maintaining he would wait for Advani to make his statement tomorrow, Singh was in no mood to accept anything short of a CBI probe. In the House, he and others from the SP were supported by Congress chief whip Priyaranjan Dasmunsi who said, ‘‘the honour of Parliament is at stake.

Taking strong exception to Mayawati’s charge, RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said that ruling NDA members were getting ‘‘commissions’’ and the MPLADS should be scrapped.

The Congress later said it would act in concert with SP and would not allow dilution of the Opposition stand. ‘‘We will formulate a joint strategy,’’ party spokesmen S Jaipal Reddy and Satyavrat Chaturvedi told reporters, demanding immediate resignation of Mayawati and a CBI probe into the issue.

The BJP, which is a coalition partner in UP, declined comment on the tapes. BJP parliamentaryparty spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra sought to shift the focus to the larger issue of the MP local area development fund and suggested that the PM convene an all-party meeting to discuss its utilisation.

When he was asked if the tape issue figured at the BJP parliamentary party meeting, Malhotra said some members mentioned it towards the end and Advani told them he would look into it.

In Lucknow, SP general secretary Amar Singh called for a CBI probe. ‘‘She is the fountainhead of corruption, as has been proved in the video cassette. The corruption charge against Mulayam Singh is baseless and we are contemplating a defamation suit against her,’’ he said.

The issue also rocked the UP Assembly with a united Opposition demanding the CM’s resignation. ‘‘She has no right to denigrate the entire House,’’ Leader of Opposition Azam Khan said.