Defiant Maya does a repeat

Ignoring criticism from rivals for wearing a huge garland of currency notes at a party rally two days ago,BSP chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today got herself garlanded again with currency notes which were said to total Rs 18 lakh.

Ignoring criticism from rivals for wearing a huge garland of currency notes at a party rally two days ago,BSP chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today got herself garlanded again with currency notes which were said to total Rs 18 lakh.

The second garland,presented to her at a meeting of BSP MPs and MLAs in Lucknow,had a design similar to the first garland that was made of Rs 1,000 rupee notes but had notes of smaller denominations. Before the start of the meeting,PWD Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui said BSP workers of 18 zones had collected the money. Let Behenji decide. If she allows us,we will henceforth welcome her by presenting garlands made of currency notes,not flowers, he said.

Claiming that people of UP are angry that the presentation of a garland at the rally had been turned into a controversy,Siddiqui took a swipe at the media for helping the party generate a fund of Rs 18 lakh with its coverage of the garland episode.

The outcry over the Rs 1,000-notes garland has already had the Income Tax department declaring that it would probe the source of money used in the garland. While the BSP claimed that the garland was worth Rs 21 lakh,rivals Congress,SP and BJP claimed its value was in crores.

Mayawati asked her MPs and MLAs to hold demonstrations on March 25 against the conspiracy to derail the BSP silver jubilee celebrations.

She also referred to the sudden appearance of a swarm of honey bees and said it was an attempt to disrupt the rally.

An MLA said she had called for protests against the womens reservation Bill as well. She described the Bill as anti-Dalit. She told us the Bill will only benefit those women who live in AC-fitted houses, the MLA said.

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