Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday slammed the Opposition parties, particularly the Congress, for trying to scuttle the progress of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) “movement” and tarnish the image of the party.
She said the BSP's opponents were using all the “devious methods” for taking their game plan to its logical conclusion and cautioned the cadre against the designs of the Congress and other parties.
Addressing an emergency meeting of the party MLAs, MPs and coordinators here, the BSP president assailed the Congress, which she accused of creating obstacles in her functioning.
According to a press release, Ms. Mayawati exhorted party office-bearers to establish contact with the cadre and supporters at the grassroots to draw their attention to the “conspiratorial moves” of the Congress and other parties.
With the panchayat elections scheduled in October, she said since the polls would be held on “free symbols” no organisational member of the BSP, or of the brotherhood committees was allowed to contest. If they decide to contest the panchayat polls, they would first have to quit their party posts.
Ms. Mayawati cautioned the MPs, MLAs, MLCs and Ministers against asking for votes in areas where there were two or three candidates affiliated to the BSP in the fray. The decision in such cases would be left to the party workers of that area to vote for the candidate, who is better placed to win. She made it clear that under no circumstances the party flag, banner, handbill, poster and hoarding should be used in the panchayat elections.
