Expelled BSP leaders go on the offensive

LUCKNOW: With the last-ditch effort by expelled Bahujan Samaj Party leaders, Barkhu Ram Verma and R.K. Chaudhary, for a patch-up with vice-president Mayawati failing, the duo has launched a tirade against the party and its leadership.

Speaking in Lucknow on Thursday, the duo said that a Bahujan Samaj Swabhiman rally would be organised here on August 30 to announce their future course of action.

Asked whether they would join any party or float a new outfit, they said: ``You will come to know on August 30. The BSP is no more a party of Bahujan Samaj. Manuvadi insurgents, have taken over the party and weakened it,'' they said.

Many other party MLAs were fed up with Mayawati's ``dictatorship'', they claimed and added that they would soon speak out.

``Despite expulsion, we went to Delhi to seek mediation of senior party leaders and IAS officers very close to Mayawati,'' they said. But she refused to relent and did not allow them to meet Kanshi Ram, they said.

They claimed that such people not only weakened ``Baudh religion'' and Baba Saheb Ambedkar's movement, but also ruined the Republican Party of India and the BSP. Mayawati was functioning at the ``fiat'' of ``Manuvadis''.

They alleged that Mayawati had also sidelined party chief Kanshi Ram and was calling the shots within the party. ``Kanshi Ram's position is that of an old man in a family who has grown weak and helpless,'' they said.

They said they would go to every corner of the state to mobilise people for the rally. They would also seek people's advice on their future course of action.

Apart from the Bahujan Samaj Swabhiman rally, a Pasi Samaj Swabhiman rally would also be organised, they announced, refuting Mayawati's allegations that they were expelled for deviating from the party's stand on reservation within reservation.

``Can Mayawati explain why she changed tack on the issue in a month? On June 29, she had stated that Rajnath Singh's MBC card would trigger a caste war. Within a month, she supported reservation for MBCs and Dalits,'' they said alleging she changed tack and expelled them at the BJP's behest.

``We worked at the directives of our national leaders. Following the party line, we supported reservation within reservation. We never advised her against party policy,'' they said describing her charges as baseless.

Meanwhile, BSP state president Inderjit Saroj reacted sharply to these allegations calling the duo Manuvadis. He alleged that both Verma and Chaudhary were expelled from the party not only for deviating from the party stand on the reservation issue but also for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income, including palatial buildings in the city, when they were ministers.



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Source:http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IEP20010803132647&Title=States&rLink=0
Referred by: Mukundan C.M.
Published on:August 4, 2001
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