The Hindu : Mayawati defends birthday bash

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 12, 2003

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National

Mayawati defends birthday bash

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 11. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP leader, Mayawati, today launched yet another offensive against political rivals accusing her of using of Government funds for her birthday celebration.

Ms. Mayawati said she was under attack because she was the ``daughter of a Dalit'' and likened the expenditure on her birthday celebrated as `Swabhiman Divas' to those spent on the birth anniversaries of Jawaharlal Nehru (Children's Day), S. Radhakrishnan (Teachers' Day) and Charan Singh (Farmers' Day).

Addressing a press conference here, she charged the Opposition with raising the issue only to ``hide its own weakness''.

Some political parties and the media were indulging in ``false propaganda''. The allegations were a product of the ``casteist mindset'', she said.

These Opposition parties had no problem with the birthday celebrations of other leaders.

The money for the Swabhiman Divas was drawn from the contingency fund and not from the discretionary fund as alleged.

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