Maya threatens to withdraw support to UPA government

NEW DELHI: Charging the Congress with conspiring to get her eliminated, Uttar Pradesh chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati served an ultimatum on the principal ruling party at the Centre here on Monday by threatening to withdraw her party’s support to the Manmohan Singh government.

A final decision on the issue, the BSP chief told newspersons here on Monday afternoon, would be taken by her party after January 15, which also happens to be her birth day.

Among the factors that had compelled her to take recourse to this measure included, besides the grave threat to her life and the Centre’s refusal to extend the SPG cover to her, the pressure being applied by the ruling combine on IT department to stop it from submitting its final report on the disproportionate assets case and its inability to accept the state government’s demand for a financial package of Rs 80,000 crore. She also blamed the Centre’s flip-flop on internal security for the recent spurt in terrorist strikes across the country.

“There is a conspiracy being hatched to get me killed. It is on the basis of this information that my government had sought SPG cover for me, but the Centre has refused to act on this request. If something happens to me, the Congress will be solely responsible,” warned Ms Mayawati, adding, “The poor and the downtrodden will never forgive the Congress.”

She said, “A meeting of our party’s central-level office-bearers, MPs and MLAs will be convened after this to decide whether to continue backing (to) the UPA government at the Centre,” the UP chief minister said.

The threat issued by the BSP chief should set alarm bells ringing within the “secular” camp. It not only lends credence to the growing perception that post-Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the Congress has ceased to be seen as a powerful and attractive political force, but also demonstrates the BSP’s resolve to make the going difficult for the Congress in the coming round of assembly polls.

The Congress, on its part, shed the aggression displayed by it on issues pertaining to the BSP supremo, and decided against matching her pitch on her claims. Reacting to her charge, Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said: “I would like to state that the allegations are baseless and contrary to facts.

If Ms Mayawati feels that there is a threat to her life, security should be appropriately extended to her.” Ms Natarajan also added that the party would “appeal that her security is something that is jointly decided upon (by the Centre and the state)” and requested the Centre and the prime minister to extend to Ms Mayawati whatever security was considered “appropriate”. On Ms Mayawati’s threat to withdraw support to the UPA government, the Congress said it is her “prerogative” to do so, and that “in a democracy it is up to her” to decide.

Party general secretary for UP Digvijay Singh’s reaction was more in the vein of a political reply to Ms Mayawati’s no-holds-barred attack on the Congress. He said he is “extremely surprised” to hear that the UP police is “not competent to look after her security”. He noted that Ms Mayawati is always followed by a convoy of about 30 cars and has the whole state machinery in UP to protect her. “Why is she so frightened?” he asked, and added that her security is of “primary importance” and that the Centre should look into her threat perception.

The BSP chief, however, kept the Congress in her firing-line. “As the results of Gujarat and HP assembly polls prove, our support base is increasing all over the country. Rattled by this, Congress leaders have started levelling baseless and irresponsible statements against my party and me,” she alleged, adding, “The Congress, in this respect, is taking the same route as the BJP. It is trying to misuse the official machinery to harass me and my party-workers and implicate me false cases.”

The UP chief minister claimed that the IT department is not being allowed by the Centre to submit its final report in the DA case. “A decision on the issue has been held in abeyance since 2004. The people of UP gave a befitting reply to the BJP for foisting false cases on me. The Congress will fare worse,” she asserted.

She also claimed to have “credible” information on the fact that dreaded mafia don Atiq Ahmed, who is the MP from Phulpur, has been given refuge by certain Congress leaders from the state.

“The CBI has not even initiated investigations against him and his brother in the case relating to the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, even though the state had referred the matter to the investigative agency seven months ago,” Ms Mayawati added. She blamed the Centre for the spurt in terror strikes across the country, and urged the politicians to rise above party lines to devise a joint strategy to combat terrorism.