Maya’s 1000-rupee-note garland under IT scanner

NEW DELHI: A day after BSP displayed its organisational might in Lucknow, garlanding its chief Mayawati with a giant garland made of Rs 1,000 notes, besides parading five lakh workers, the extravagant show is sure to haunt the Uttar Pradesh chief minister in days to come.

On a day when the income tax department, while taking note of the display, decided to probe the source of the garland presented to Ms Mayawati, there was fresh trouble in store for her in Parliament, with Congress joining hands with the Samajwadi Party and BJP in seeking an investigation into what they said was an “obscene” display of money and state power.

This is not the first time that the UP chief minister has courted controversy by making a public show of the wealth lavished on her, purportedly by her followers. An enthusiastic BSP worker from Kanpur had gifted a plot on the moon on her birthday this year. The BSP supremo’s diamond jewellery sets and her statues carrying a purse have been hot topics of discussion in political circles.

But Monday’s extravaganza held to celebrate 25 years of BSP’s existence and the 76th birth anniversary of party founder, the late Kanshi Ram, has set a new bar. Like in the past, her dalliances with wealth have once again set her on a path of confrontation with her political adversaries. For the second successive day, she came under attack in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, with members of the Samajwadi Party, Congress and BJP raising questions about her lavish rally and demanding a probe into the source of the ``multi-crore’’ garland presented to her.

SP and Congress members created ruckus since noon, forcing three adjournments. The Lok Sabha was finally adjourned for the recess till April 12, hours before the scheduled adjournment. Congress raked up the issue outside Parliament too, with its general secretary in-charge of UP, Digvijay Singh saying ``wo dalit ki nahin, daulat ki beti hai (she’s not the daughter of a Dalit, but that of riches).

``We appeal to the government to take cognizance of Ms Mayawati’s rally and the garland presented to her. It should be inquired into,’’ Mr Singh told reporters outside Parliament, adding that ``the government should look into the organised loot in UP.’’