Mayawati files Rajya Sabha papers

‘‘I contested the Lok Sabha elections only to keep rivals mum so they could not accuse me of getting an easy backdoor entry to Parliament,’’ she told mediapersons after filing her nomination. Retired advocate general S.C. Mishra, who joined the BSP recently, also filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha.

A BSP leader said: ‘‘Kanshi Ram’s tenure as the RS member from Uttar Pradesh is expiring on July 4 and she has decided to represent him from the seat to give the impression that her real motive is to fulfil the dreams of the ailing saheb (Kanshi).’’

‘‘I want to work for the party as has been the wishes of Kanshi Ramji,’’ said Mayawati. She, however, spared her arch rival — Mulayam Singh Yadav — on the law and order front, saying, ‘‘I will speak (on that) later”.