Mayawati attacks Congress for corruption; blames party for botch-up

LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Mayawati came down heavily on the Congress led UPA government at the centre blaming it for unbridled corruption and failure of the top leadership to take effective action against the guilty.

In one of her sharpest attacks on Congress governments at the centre and in states, she said that the Congress had tarnished the image of the country and let down its people with corruption being prevalent both in the central government and the Delhi state government.

Addressing a party cadre camp in New Delhi, Mayawati said that corruption during Commonwealth Games was a blot on the nation and the amount swindled then would have been sufficient to provide roads, water and electricity to the people of Delhi and the undeveloped slums being inhabited by people migrating to the national capital from UP and Bihar.

She said that Delhi state government basic facilties were not being provided to Dalit settlements and slums where lower income groups coming from other states live.

Mayawati said that the basti’s and slums should be regularised and blamed bot h the central and Delhi state government for their neglect.

Mayawati said that the common man’s faith had been shaken and his pride hurt by the spate of scams which have been exposed in recent months.

She said that while her government in UP was attacked by the Congress for land acquisition issue, it failed to see the farmers plight in the Delhi region. Mayawati said that in Delhi’s Kanjawala, Bawana and Delhi Dehat area the market rat eof land was Rs 3 to 10 crores/acre but government of Delhi state was acquiring it at Rs 53 lakh per acre. Farmers in Rajasthan and Haryana were also being forced to sell land at cheap rates she said.

She said that the Congress despite having ruled the country for decades had not tried to change the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 and her party would demonstrate outside the parliament if a new land acquisition bill is not tabled in the Lok Sabha in the coming monsoon session.